Fathoms Below
by Auryn Rei Evroren
Summary: A genderbent retelling of the classic Disney movie. What would happen if Princess Ariel were really Prince Averil, youngest son of the King of the Sea? Could a sixteen-year-old rebel merman go up against family and foe to earn the love of a headstrong and beautiful human princess?
1. Chapter 1: Discoveries

**Author's Note: Hello readers! I am your excited author, Auryn. Now one thing you have to know about this story: It's GENDERBENT! Yes, that means that Ariel and all of her sisters are actually boys in my version. Names changed, yes, but also personalities and relationships. I mean, boys don't act like girls do, right? In the interest of being realistic, I'm making quite a few major changes. If you don't like it, I'm sorry, but tough. This is my story. **

**Don't forget to review, please and thank you! Enjoy!**

* * *

**Fathoms Below**

_A Genderbent Fanfiction_

_By Auryn Rei Evroren_

Chapter One: Discoveries

The breezes that blew across the seas were a great relief to many, as the heat of summer covered the earth. Sweethearts and families with children traveled as far and as long as they needed to, hoping to reach the seaside with its cool breezes and clear waters. Here a young child selected pretty shells from the thick sand, bunching up her apron to hold them all. There, a pair of sisters splashed water in one another's faces, squealing with delight. An older woman sighed dramatically as she allowed her young servant to fan her, sending the sweet scent of roses from her perfume into the passing breeze.

Miles away, far out into such distant ocean that few land-dwellers had ever seen it, that rose scent caught the attention of a most peculiar person.

Averil sat up the moment he smelled something interesting. That particular scent, it didn't exist in the ocean. It was sweet, but not sweet like candy. His flaming red hair blew in the breeze as he documented the smell, hoping he might find its source at a later time. The ends of his long turquoise tail curled ever so slightly, betraying his delight.

Slowly, he lay back down on the large rock he had chosen as a perch, placing his hands behind his head, watching lazily as the clouds above twisted and puffed in the wind.

"Did you smell that?" he asked aloud, turning to glance at his companion. At the base of his rock, a bright yellow fish striped with blue poked its head out of the water, shaking its head. A coral-colored bag sat on the rock, bulging with mysterious contents.

"I never get to smell anything fun," the fish whined, prompting a chuckle from the young merman who relaxed above him.

A smile spread across Averil's face.

"You never stay still long enough to notice when the good smells are around," he replied casually. "You worry too much, Flounder. No one's gonna catch us."

The waters below lapped more vigorously against the rock as the offended Flounder crossed his fins.

"You say that every time," he said, his gaze darting around like dragonflies on a pond, searching almost frantically for any sign of having been followed. "Can we go home soon?"

Averil sighed, sitting up and scratching lazily at his messy red hair.

"Scuttle should be here soon, just be patient," he said, his eyes traveling to and fro beneath the clouds. His seagull friend was not usually quite so difficult to track down, there must have been something interesting going on somewhere. Either that or he was lost again.

Averil understood Flounder's frustration. He was just the worrying type. He liked the surface as much as Averil did, but he could never stop fussing long enough to really appreciate it. He was such a guppy.

Just as he was about to give up, Averil spotted a dark speck in the sky, headed their way. He grinned and raised hand, waving it in the air so that Scuttle could see where they were.

"See? I told you so," he snickered at Flounder. In one graceful motion, the young merman used his powerful tail to flip himself off the rock, diving back into the refreshing waters. When he resurfaced, there was a ruffle-feathered seagull perched on the rock, staring at him.

"Scuttle, check this out," Averil said, jumping right in. He didn't have much time, plus he was excited to show off his treasures. He dug around in the pink bag, removing at long last a strange shiny object. It was long, maybe a little longer than Averil's handspan, and thin. One end was all one piece, but the other end had been twisted into three different pointy bits. Scuttle's eyes went wide as he snatched it out of Averil's hands.

"I haven't seen one of these babies in a very long time," he guffawed, his feathers all pointing up at odd angles. He tapped the object against the rock, producing a slight ringing sound that sent shivers up Averil's spine.

"What is it?" Averil breathed, his eyes transfixed on the shiny mystery object.

The seagull leaned back on his webbed feet, holding the object out for display.

"It's a _dinglehopper_," he said dramatically. Averil and Flounder both went bright-eyed with excitement.

"Humans use'em to straighten out their hair, you know," Scuttle continued, strutting round in a small circle. He raised the three-pointed end and twirled it around in his crown feathers, poofing them up spectacularly. Flounder chose not to mention the few feathers that fell free of Scuttle's head completely.

"Seems odd," Averil commented. He reached out and took the dinglehopper back, turning it over and over in his hands, examining it for the umpteenth time. Scuttle, meanwhile, busied himself taking his own look into Averil's treasure bag. He emerged holding the only other new discovery.

It was a strange brown curved thing, large as a starfish on one end, but it shrunk narrower and narrower as it went on until it was no larger than the tip of Averil's little finger. It looked like some kind of scooper, but it wasn't hollowed out on the large end. Averil and Flounder had marveled over it for quite some time, with no grand ideas as to its purpose.

Scuttle waved it around emphatically.

"Now this is rare, this is very very unusual," he said matter-of-factly. "A genuine snarfblack like this is hard to come by."

"Snarfblack?" Averil repeated, raising his brows. "What does it do?"

He and Flounder leaned in closer to look as Scuttle explained.

"Well you see, this goes back to the time when humans used to be so boring that all they thought to do was just sit around and stare at each other," Scuttle lectured. Flounder and Averil exchanged doubtful glances, but they let the seagull continue.

"So they invented this here snarfblack to make beautiful music!" Scuttle declared. "Allow me to demonstrate."

He raised the smaller end of the snarfblack to his beak and went to blow through it, but the silly bird wasn't smart enough to inhale first. He wound up inhaling whatever was inside the snarfblack, which looked like thick, black steam. Scuttle coughed and choked, earning some well-deserved laughs from him companions.

Good-natured as he was, Averil couldn't just watch the poor guy suffer. Chuckling to himself, he leaned forward and patted Scuttle on the back, helping him clear his lungs of the gunk. When he had stopped spluttering and coughing, Scuttle flopped to the ground and just wheezed helplessly.

Flounder couldn't for the life of him contain his giggles.

"You okay, Scuttle?" Averil asked, unable to keep himself from grinning as well.

The seagull couldn't quite muster a reply, but he held out a wing and formed his feathers into a thumbs-up.

Reassured of his friend's safety, Averil sank down in the water until only his shoulders and neck were visible. He stretched out his tail, maneuvering onto his back so that he could float in the water with the edge of the rock as a pillow. He continued turning the dinglehopper around in one hand, just fiddling with it absentmindedly as he stared at the endless sky above them. The clouds were beginning to thin out, spreading themselves flat like a coral fan. Though it was still afternoon, the sun was beginning to drift off toward the west. Averil sighed, thinking that if he didn't get home soon, his father was going to have some serious words for him.

King Triton ruled over all the seas, but the surface world was beyond his control. Humans were alien to him, vicious monsters that inhabited horror stories. Averil's own mother, the late Queen, had fallen to the humans' destructive nature. That being as it was, it only made sense that the Sea King would be so mistrustful of the world above. However, that meant very little when it come to the youngest of his sons.

Averil was not only the youngest of the princes, but also the most curious and adventurous. He was always looking for some new scrape to get into. The palace staff always laughed and blamed it on his bright red hair. He looks just like the Queen, they all whispered to themselves. Must have gotten her free spirit. Averil found the surface world fascinating, no matter what his father thought.

_Thank Poseidon I'm not the crown prince,_ Averil thought to himself wryly, watching the clouds slowly dissipate in the stronger wind. _Or this would be a whole lot harder._

He sighed slowly, trying to let out all of his dark thoughts. He spent most of his days and nights at the sea palace, being overshadowed constantly by his condescending father and older brothers. This was the surface. His father couldn't bother him here.

A beat.

Averil shot up, his eyes wider than ever before. All of the color had drained from his face, and he didn't even appear to notice when his tail awkwardly splashed back into the water, sending sprinkles at both Scuttle and Flounder in the process.

"The crown prince," he whispered, nearly too shocked to move. "The coronation ceremony. My father is going to _kill me._"

Flounder's jaw hit the water. Averil snatched his treasure bag, stuffing the snarfblack and dinglehopper back into it, as securely as he could when moving so quickly. Both merman and fish moved so fast they were but blurs on the horizon.

"See you later, Scuttle!" Averil called over his shoulder, before diving down into the waters that were his home.

"We are in so much trouble," Flounder fretted.

"Shut up and _swim_," Averil answered gruffly, his tail aching with the effort of swimming so quickly. It took all of his willpower not to speed up even faster, leaving Flounder in the bubbles. He was tempted to leave him, but Averil knew that later he would be grateful for his friend's company. The Sea King was a formidable man, but it was always a little bit better if you weren't the only poor schmuck standing in front of him.

_Please don't let me have ruined it,_ Averil prayed silently as he swam. _Not again. Not this time. Please._

* * *

"I don't know what else to do with you, young man."

Averil flinched at the tone in his father's voice. He could feel Flounder trembling behind him, that great lump of useless. Oh sure, he was a great support system.

"Dad, I'm sorry, I just-"

King Triton silenced his youngest son with a single look. He towered over him, his broad and muscled torso just daring him to say another word. Averil dropped his gaze to the sea floor, his face flushed with shame. He knew just how hot water he was in.

"This ceremony was the most important event of your brother's life," King Triton intoned, stretching out an arm to indicate his oldest son. The newly appointed Crown Prince Arren, eldest son of the great Sea King, hovered next to the throne, his expression as dark as his father's. He resembled Triton in physique, but for his blonde hair, which he kept shorn neatly just below his ears, his carefully trimmed beard, and his goldenrod-hued tail. He wore a gold circlet, to signify his rank as crown prince. His beady eyes were narrowed in anger.

"Well, until he actually gets crowned King," Averil muttered, which earned him a glare from both his father and brother simultaneously.

Arren leaned forward.

"So what was so important that you had to miss the coronation, little brother?" he asked icily. "It must have been something very _special_."

Though his heart was beating so loud he thought his brother could probably hear it, Averil managed to calm his breathing. Without looking up, he answered as smoothly as he could.

"I was trying to finish my official gift to the Crown Prince, Father," Averil said apologetically. "I must have lost track of the time."

He reached into his treasure bag, extracting an exquisitely carved coral flute. It wasn't entirely a lie- the flute _was_ supposed to be his gift to Arren. It was just supposed to be given to him that morning, at the ceremony. Averil had finished making it a week ago.

Arren eyed the flute suspiciously, but when Averil offered it to him, he accepted it with a gruff nod.

King Triton, too, looked unsatisfied with Averil's answer, but he had no proof, and no reason to ask for more information.

"This is good work," Arren observed, turning the coral flute over in his hands, no doubt searching for some sign that it was a fake, or a ploy. A maker's mark, maybe. Anything to prove that Averil might be lying. Unfortunately, he found nothing.

"I'm glad you like it, brother," Averil replied cautiously. He turned his gaze back to the King.

"May I go now?" he asked testily. "I think I have some other brothers to apologize to."

The Sea King exchanged a glance with his oldest son, then nodded.

"Do not let it happen again," King Triton warned. "This is your last chance."

Taking note of the warning, Averil nodded, and got out of there as swiftly as he could. He reached the outer corridor and let out a long sigh of relief. Flounder, his silent shadow, copied the action.

"I thought we were dead," Flounder mumbled, still shaking a bit.

"_You_ thought so?" Averil accused. "I'm the one who would have been shark bait."

This line of banter continued nearly all the way to Averil's room, which he shared with not one, but _all_ of his brothers. That, of course, meant that the moment he floated inside, he was accosted with no mercy.

The blue-green coral walls spun as Averil felt himself being immediately tackled to the floor.

"What the shellfish, Averil?"

"The _coronation_ ceremony, really?"

"I knew you weren't the sharpest, but to miss _that-_"

"Guys!" Averil hollered, desperate for fresh water. It was hard to breathe with that many people piled on top of you. Especially when half of them were twice your size. For the thousandth time, Averil cursed being one of the only mermen in his family not to be blessed with the mer-hunk gene.

Slowly, Averil's brothers backed off, but none of them ceased their questioning. It took two more yells to get them to stop all talking at once.

"Yes, I know, I screwed up," Averil sighed, exasperated. He flopped onto his bed, dropping his treasure bag on the floor, and buried his face unceremoniously in his pillow.

"That's putting it lightly," came the dry voice of his brother Amery from the next bed over. Amery was the fourth of the brothers, younger twin of Antony, the third (though they looked little alike). Bookish and unsociable, Amery had no interest in most family politicking, and was generally content to remain alone to read. His tail was a dark russet red hue, which paired nicely with his short, sandy hair.

"Oh, shut it," Averil snapped, rolling over so he could face the masses. They all stared at him, every single one but Amery (he was multitasking, a book in one hand).

Allan, the deep blue-tailed second oldest, simply frowned at his younger brother. He was unimpressed with Averil's behavior, but was too kindhearted to truly scold him. Allan was usually the gentle calm that helped to counter Arren's temperamental dispostion. He also happened to be a physical dead ringer for the Sea King, but for his long hair being auburn rather than white.

Antony, the third brother and elder twin to Amery, looked discomforted. His deep orange tail flicked back and forth nervously, and he had his arms crossed over his barrel chest to keep from fidgeting. His curly red-gold locks shielded his eyes, making him hard to read. Like Amery, Antony wasn't the type to get involved with family politics. He was the good-natured sort, with a simple mind which lent itself better to completing tasks than contemplating them.

Ansel, the fifth, and Alec, the sixth, both struggled not to outright laugh at their youngest brother. Ansel was the trickster who lived to watch other people be chastised. Half the time that was his motivation to play tricks, as he had just enough dashing good looks to never be suspect. Ansel could charm his way out of anything, and his wavy black hair and smoldering brown eyes made him the perfect liar. His pale yellow tail drifted back and forth slowly as his shoulders shook with suppressed laughter.

Alec, too, fought to hide his amusement, but he was also the first one to offer any kindness. He reached out and placed a rough hand on Averil's shoulder.

"Don't sweat it, bro," he advised, flipping his long brown bangs out of his eyes. For all he complained of them, everyone knew Alec loved his bangs. Just as much as he loved the unseemly rattail he wore at the base of his skull, and the earring in his right ear. He was a rebel from the top of his head to the tip of his olive-green tail. Alec was the closest in both age and love to the youngest, a fact for which Averil was grateful. Without Alec, he would have been a much more miserable prince.

"Dad will get over it eventually," Allan added calmly. "But I suggest you do some serious groveling when Arren gets in here. He was livid."

"I'm sure he was," Averil replied, rolling his eyes. "Just like every other day."

"Averil," Allan reprimanded with a sigh. "You may not get along, but you still owe Arren your respect. As Crown Prince-"

Averil cut him off with a desperate growl.

"Yeah, yeah, he's the Crown Prince, we know already!" he snarled, restlessly running his fingers through his hair. "Can't he just leave the rest of us alone? It's _his_ problem, not mine!"

The suddenly silent room regarded Averil with a mixture of sympathy and quiet awe. While he wasn't the loudest of the bunch (that title fell easily to Alec), Averil was the most bluntly outspoken. He was never afraid to say what he felt, regardless of consequence. It was both a blessing and a curse.

Averil sank back onto his bed, scowling. He knew he was being unfair, but at that moment, he couldn't bring himself to care. He had known how important the coronation ceremony was to his family. He hadn't meant to forget about it, it was an accident. They were all acting like he did it on purpose, though.

_They act like I go out of my way trying to find ways to screw up,_ he thought angrily. Truly, that concern was more valid with either Ansel or Alec than with Averil. Ansel would have thought missing the coronation was funny. Alec would have skipped because he didn't _want_ to be there, and made a big fuss about it. Yet it was Averil who got the brunt of the family's displeasure.

Bubbles drifted round the room as the brothers carefully dissipated. From the look on Averil's face, this wasn't the moment to push him. Amery returned to his book. Ansel floated lazily back to his own bed, grabbing a magazine from under his pillow. Alec poked Antony in the side out of boredom, starting a playful wrestling match between them. Soon they were nothing but an olive and orange blur.

Slowly, Allan lowered himself onto Averil's bed. At first he said nothing, but the frequent mediator was experienced enough to know how to deal with each of his brothers. King Triton himself said that it would be a sad day if Allan ever left Atlantica, and advised Arren often to listen to his closest brother's counsel. He was very wise, even at such a young age.

"Averil," Allan said quietly, his auburn locks settling loosely across his shoulders, just as Triton's did. "You didn't intend to miss the ceremony today, did you."

For all it was phrased as a question, it wasn't. Both mermen knew it.

Averil sighed.

"You know you can't keep up like this," Allan continued softly. He reached over and laid a heavy hand on Averil's shoulder. The youngest merprince tried to jerk himself out of Allan's hold, but the elder's grip was strong.

Averil was compelled to turn, meeting his brother's eyes. His calm blue gaze was firm, but not harsh.

"No one expects perfection from you," Allan said seriously. "But you're sixteen years old. That's old enough to behave like a true prince of Atlantica. That means no missing ceremonies, no forgetting the rules."

Averil's face flushed red as he listened.

"I didn't ask to be a prince," Averil muttered, his voice nearly lost in his pillow.

"No, you didn't," Allan conceded. "But then, none of us did. Arren didn't ask to be Crown Prince either. We all have our roles to fulfill, whether we want them or not, and that includes you."

When Averil continued to scowl at his pillow, Allan gave up. There would be no getting through to him while he was still so upset. It was all about saying what you could before he decided to shut you out.

"Think about it," Allan advised. He turned and flicked his tail, wandering off to go try his luck with Antony, who now held Alec in a merciless headlock. Time to break it up before Alec's rapidly reddening face exploded.

Averil watched his brothers out of the corner of his eye. Every one of them overshadowed him, it was the curse of being the youngest. Still, not one of them knew about his frequent trips to the surface. That was one secret that the young merprince had managed to keep all for himself. It was his refuge, the one place where he felt truly comfortable. The warmth of the sun and the expanse of the open sky took away all of his worries. When he lay on that rock, soaking in the sunlight, he was free.

At least there was one good thing to remember about that day. Averil smiled to himself, glancing down at his treasure bag that lay on the floor. He knew just what to do with his new discoveries.


	2. Chapter 2: Rescue

**Author's Note: Hello dear readers! A few things to note about this chapter: there are a LOT of plot changes in here. Rest assured, I'm trying to change as little as possible, because I love the original story, but what else is fanfiction for, right? I will explain some of my changes at the end of the chapter, for the sake of not spoiling. Hopefully my reasoning will make sense.****  
****Enjoy!**

* * *

**Fathoms Below**

_A Genderbent Fanfiction_

_By Auryn Rei Evroren_

Chapter Two: Rescue

The hours before dinner were tense. Dinner itself was ten times worse. Averil could feel every one of his family members surreptitiously staring at him, as if he couldn't feel their condescension anyway. King Triton said nothing to his youngest son, speaking only to his right-hand crab, Sebastien, and the two eldest princes. That was no surprise.

Generally speaking, Triton wasn't the most talkative of mermen, and when it came to his sons, he was even more silent. Since the death of the Queen, the King's heart had been cold, and the young princes felt that freeze up close. As Averil was the most similar to Queen Athena in looks and personality, it was his relationship with his father that had suffered the most.

Triton bonded well with his eldest sons, who had been old enough to truly understand the tragedy of their mother's death. Arren and Allan were enough like Triton that they understood one another easily. Antony and Amery were more different, but they didn't seem to mind. Amery didn't want to be close to anyone in the first place, and Antony understood that his glass-half-full mentality reminded them all of Queen Athena. It was something he had come to terms with, in a way that Averil had not.

Ansel, Alec, and Averil were the outcasts, the youngest, and farthest from their father's supposedly loving gaze. Ansel chose to spend his time playing jokes and pranks. He laughed it all off, preferring to make his own happiness in the void family bonding had left. To the naked eye, Ansel didn't require firm parenting, and was fine on his own.

Alec was the rebellious delinquent child. He was hauled up before Triton more than any of them, for a variety of reasons. Triton had more than once threatened to disown him. Yet he never did, and Alec never stopped his misbehavior. Averil suspected that Alec caused such trouble purely for the purpose of capturing his father's attention, but no force in the sea could convince Alec to admit it.

That left Averil, the daydreamer, the adventurer, the questioner. He rarely went out of his way to earn his father's wrath, the way Alec and Ansel did, but the behavior of his two closest brothers had cast a shadow on Averil as well. Small things, like being late to dinner or asking why they couldn't go to the surface, wore on Triton's patience. It didn't help that Averil was only sixteen. No father takes his son seriously at sixteen, especially not a single father with six other children and a kingdom to rule besides.

Averil would have been content to be ignored, but alas, it was not to be. Crown Prince Arren kept the watchful eye on his brothers that his father could not spare. Sometimes it was like having two fathers.

The dinner hour passed in near-silence. Averil's hands were fidgety, tapping restlessly on the coral table. It earned him enough glares to assure that when he asked to leave the table, release was granted immediately.

Hoping to get out of the palace before any of his brothers had the chance to ask where he was going, Averil swam at top speed back to their room. He grabbed his treasure bag out from under his bed and took off, out the window and into the dark, open sea.

The water got cooler the further he drifted from home, but Averil didn't mind. He was headed for his grotto, which felt more like home anyway.

"Flounder," Averil called softly as he approached the grotto's entrance, and was pleased to see the small striped fish appear from the tall seaweed surrounding the large coral lump that covered the grotto.

"Took you long enough," Flounder grumbled, but the smile on his face gave him away. Averil ignored the jab, and reached for the large stone that blocked the grotto entrance. He pulled it back, leaving just enough room from Flounder to get by, then zipped inside as quickly as he could before the stone fell back into place.

The grotto was a small cavity in the coral and stone that covered the sea floor. It had coral on most of its sides, growing in convenient ebbs that provided shelving for all of Averil's treasures. Averil and Flounder had painstakingly moved the large stone to hide the entrance, and since then, the grotto had served as their secret clubhouse. No one beyond the two of them knew it even existed.

The natural shelves were covered in treasures and rescued items that Averil had collected over time. Many of them he had never seen before, and had needed some explanation from Scuttle. Thingamabobs and doohickeys, whatchamajigs, gadgets, gizmos- Averil had it all. Blue and white patterns danced across the walls and floor, reflecting the moonlight that shone down through the small opening that served as the grotto's skylight.

Grinning triumphantly, Averil drew the snarfblack and the dinglehopper from his treasure bag, placing them carefully on the shelf next to his most recently acquired whatchamacallit.

"Another salvage mission, perfectly executed," he declared, admiring his collection. "I tell you what, Flounder, I could start a museum with all this stuff if my father wouldn't have me executed for collecting it all in the first place."

"You got that right," Flounder replied. He let out a sigh, and sank down to rest on the large rock that jutted out in the grotto's center, providing a place to sit.

"Hey Averil?" he asked tentatively, as the young merman pondered his next move.

"Yeah?" Averil answered quietly.

"Do you think your dad's ever going to understand why you collect all this stuff?"

The little fish's voice was hesitant, as if he wasn't sure he should ask such a loaded question. Truth be told, Averil didn't entirely appreciate it, but this was his friend. Flounder had stood by him when no one else did, and he at least deserved an answer.

Averil shrugged.

"I doubt it," he said.

A loud crashing sound from behind Averil interrupted and caused both merman and fish to jump almost out of their scales. Averil whipped around to find none other than his father's major domo, the stuffy and uptight crustacean Sebastien. One of his many legs was caught in a doohickey trap, which seemed to have dragged him off the shelf that lay just above. The shelf's contents had followed, covering the little crab with a pile of Averil's collectables. His eyes were narrowed in disdain.

Pushed to his limit that day, the ordinarily even-tempered Averil promptly lost his composure. He scooped the crab off the ground in a single motion, bringing him close to his face. He made no effort to be gentle about it, either.

"What are you doing here, Sebastien?" Averil growled, in no mood to be pleasant.

Sebastien eyed the room, clearly beyond comprehending what he was seeing. He seemed too frustrated to even form a coherent sentence at first.

"Prince Averil, you- this- what is all of this nonsense?!" Sebastien demanded.

"This is my collection," Averil answered coolly. His free hand curled into a fist.

"If your father knew about this-" the crab began.

"You're not going to tell him, are you?" Flounder fretted.

"You _can't tell him_," Averil said, his tone deadly serious. "Not my father, not my brothers, not _anyone_, you hear?"

Sebastien matched Averil's angered expression with one of his own.

"If you think, young man, that I would keep secrets from His Majesty, then you are sorely-"

"Sebastien, come on!" Averil argued desperately. "You have to understand! I-"

All three of them froze as a dark shadow passed over the skylight, temporarily plunging the grotto into darkness. Averil looked up, and saw only a vague shape from what looked like the distant surface. In the sudden silence, he heard a _boom_ and a _crackle_ sound. Then again, _boom, crackle._

"Whoa," Flounder whispered. "What is it?"

"Don't know," Averil replied, awed.

All argument forgotten, Averil dropped Sebastien to the floor and raced for the entrance stone. He shoved it aside as quickly as he could, searching overhead for that shadowy shape. Flounder right behind him, the young merman swam rapidly for the surface. He ignored Sebastien's desperate calls for him to come back.

The moment he hit the surface, Averil shook out his dripping hair so he could see. The _boom_ and _crackle _got louder, the sound leading Averil to his quarry.

The starry night sky lit up at the sound of the _boom_, bright colors exploding in the air like the lightning during a storm. Averil was the only one in his family to have ever seen the lightning. This, however, was much more interesting.

The lights illuminated the dark shape, a large ship sailing across the water. It was big, larger than many of the shipwrecks Averil had scoured for treasures. He had never seen one all in one piece before. His eyes wide, Averil was so amazed that he didn't even hear Sebastien calling him back again.

Averil dove into the water, skipping through the waves as the dolphins did, swimming in for a closer look. As he approached the ship, he noticed that its sides were covered in extra beams, which could provide a man handholds, were he strong enough. There was also a hole, just below the deck railing.

The temptation was too much. Even knowing that he risked death, Averil couldn't let this opportunity pass. He got as close as he could to the ship's broad starboard side, and carefully worked his way up the side, using his arms to pull himself up. The beams were slippery with water and algae, but it wasn't so bad. He only slipped once.

As carefully as he could manage, Averil folded his tail onto the second-highest beam, which gave him a perch to look through the hole at the ship's deck. No sooner had he become situated, though, when a sound from above startled him.

A dark-haired human _girl_ appeared at the railing, making Averil's face go white with shock. He had never seen a human so close before, let alone a girl. Any moment she was going to see him. His heart was beating so fast he thought it might fail. Quickly, he had to get back to the water. But any motion and she would definitely see him!

Trapped, Averil just held as still as possible, praying to Poseidon that she would not see him.

Fortune was on his side. The lady seemed as distracted as could be, staring out into the open ocean. Under her breath, she hummed softly, as the wind blew through her long black hair. Her eyes were the same pale blue as the sky in the daytime. She wore all white, a long covering that hid her legs from view. Her voice was low for a female, a distinct contralto. She sang no words, only hummed a lyricless tune in a repetitive pattern. She started with an F, then drifted through G and A, followed by a surprising low C. She always seemed to lose it after that, trailing off into silence, only to begin again moments later at the beginning again. Averil wondered if she was aware of the sound she made at all. Her eyes were locked on the distant ocean, watching the waves rise and fall.

He couldn't look away, not if he'd tried.

Her skin was pale as ivory, her hair soaking in the blue-white moonlight. She rested her arms against the railing, propping up her head on one hand.

Averil felt like he couldn't breathe. Suddenly a second person joined the lady, blocking Averil's view and interrupting her song. He was an older gentleman, dressed in all black.

"Please, Princess Erryn, you must go belowdeck," the man whined. "It is not appropriate for a young lady to wander about the deck like this!"

The girl sighed.

"You know how I feel about being appropriate, Grimsby," she said, her low, musical voice ringing through the air, though she spoke rather softly. "I refuse to spend our entire voyage sitting in my cabin being bored. We're nearly home anyway, what does it matter?"

The old man- Grimsby –sniffed.

"All the more reason for you to return below, my lady," he insisted. "You must pack your things."

"I'm already packed," Erryn answered. The wind from the sea picked up, blowing her lovely hair into disarray.

"But my lady, if you do not follow the rules of decorum, you will never find an eligible suitor!"

With a dramatic sigh, the princess tore herself from the ship's rail, grumbling about servants who didn't mind their own business. Droplets appeared on the deck as rain began to fall from overhead.

"I don't _care_ about suitors," the princess half-shouted, dragging her servant away to talk with him more privately.

Averil inhaled sharply, with half a mind to call out, but the ship bucked in the rising waves. The momentary lapse of judgment vanished, and the young merprince clapped a hand over his own mouth.

He had almost called out to her that she should stay. He had almost _spoken_ to a _human._ His father would kill him if he knew, as would any of his brothers. It was ridiculous. This whole _situation_ was ridiculous. But somehow, Averil couldn't bring himself to look at that girl as the murderous villain humans were portrayed to be in the merworld. She was beautiful, and her voice was as good as any siren he had ever met. Surely this beautiful human princess was the epitome of all things good in the world.

_CRRRRACK_.

The booming and crackling of the colored lightning above the ship was nothing compared to the very real lightning that suddenly flickered through the sky overhead. The clouds had formed a dark gray swirling mass above them, dropping rain and lightning on the ill-prepared sailors. The sea began to churn faster and higher, waves now reaching as high as Averil's perch.

"_Hurricane a'comin!"_ came the cry from the lookout's nest, high above the deck.

Immediately, the ship's deck was plunged into chaos. Men in striped shirts ran every which way, grabbing ropes and pulling them tighter. Averil searched for a better handhold in the shrieking wind, but saw none. He pressed himself tightly against the ship's side. Hitting the water at this distance would be painful.

"_Protect the princess!"_ someone on deck shouted. Averil tried to catch sight of her, but he saw only men. The rain picked up, making it difficult to see in any direction. The waves rolled higher and higher. Averil fought to hold on, but he could definitely feel his hold slipping.

Lightning crackled once more, a harsh sound that made Averil's hair stand on end. Light flared above him.

When he looked up, Averil saw that the large white mass on top of the ship, the one that caught the wind for them to sail with, had been engulfed in some glowing orange expanse. It grew, eating the white thing, then moved on to the deck itself. Suddenly Averil was warm, warmer than he ever wanted to be. His scales and skin felt dry, even in all the rain. Something about that orange mass was not right.

The orange moved closer and closer. It flickered at the edges, like lightning, sending heat everywhere it went. Soon, Averil would have to jump, lest the orange mass reach him.

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than the entire ship jolted forcefully, having collided with something. Averil's hold gave out, and he knew he had only seconds to get out of there before he fell. Instead of letting himself fall uncontrollably, Averil used his powerful tail propel himself into a dive, hitting the water arms first. It hurt, as he predicted, but the rushing cool water felt fantastic against his heated skin. His lungs, too, thanked him for the fresh water to breathe. Air didn't hurt merpeople, but it wasn't as comfortable as water.

Averil resurfaced quickly, eyes darting around. The ship had become lodged against a large jetty rock, a sharp, jagged thing that protruded from the ocean like a spear. The ship's crew were mostly in the water, having been thrown overboard on impact, as Averil had been. The orange mass covered the entire deck, glowing like the sun.

"_The princess!"_ someone shouted from a small lifeboat.

"_She's lost!"_ a second voice answered from the water. _"No way she survived!"_

The roar of the storm ate their voices, as Averil swam desperately through the wreckage and debris that littered the waves. He saw no sign of the princess, and wondered if she had, indeed, been lost to the storm.

Out of the corner of his eye, a flash of white caught Averil's attention. It was the white dress of the princess. She clung to a piece of drifting debris, but quickly sank beneath the waves.

Without hesitation, Averil dove after her. He moved swiftly beneath her, hooking his arm around her waist, swimming hard for the surface. He broke through, searching for any sign of the ship's crew. He saw only wreckage in every direction.

_Land_, he thought frantically. _I've got to get her to land._

His turquoise tail whipping hard through the swirling seawater, Averil set off in the direction of the closest land he could think of. He had seen it only once before, at a distance, when looking for Scuttle. He only prayed that he could find it again.

_Hang on, princess._

* * *

It was a long, hard swim, even for a merman who wasn't burdened with the weight of an extra unconscious person. Still, no one could say that Averil was anything less than determined. After locating both Flounder and (to his surprise) Sebastien, Averil had managed to get the human princess to the shore. Still, her unconscious state worried him.

He laid her down in the soft sand as gently as he could, but with his tail on land, it was still a quite clumsy. Sebastien and Flounder watched from the water with bated breath, as the sun began to rise in the distance.

"Is she dead?" Flounder asked nervously.

Averil peered closely at his comatose companion.

"I don't _think_ so," he said hesitantly, "-but I don't know how to tell for sure."

Her skin was pale, but not cold to the touch. She was warm. That was good, right? For humans? Weren't they supposed to be warm?

Averil reached forward and brushed her long black hair out of her face. As he did so, he felt a slight puff of air against his wrist. Quickly he leaned closer to her mouth, and found that what he had felt was indeed her breath.

"She's breathing," he said, relieved.

"Good for you," grumbled Sebastien. "Now let's go home before the king decides that we are all dead."

"Hang on a minute, will you?" Averil growled. "I want to get a good look."

His eyes were transfixed by her beauty. In the glow of the rising sun, she looked almost peaceful, for all she had nearly drowned in a shipwreck. Her clothes were a mess, and her hair looked like seaweed...but she was beautiful. Averil wished she were awake, so she would hum that song again. The one she couldn't finish.

Before he even realized what he was doing, Averil was humming the song as he remembered it, softly, the way she did. F, G, A, C.

Singing was one of those skills you didn't tend to talk about much in a family full of boys. If his brothers knew how good Averil's voice really was, they would never let him hear the end of it. Not only that, but his voice was high, more melodic than most mermen, and therefore a prime target for brotherly jokes. So while Averil did enjoy singing, he rarely bothered to do it.

That didn't stop him now.

Averil added lyrics to Erryn's song, just blurting out whatever came to mind.

"What would I give to live where you are," he sang quietly, barely even audible. "What would I give to stay here beside you...what would I do to see you, smiling at me..."

He let the words go, not sure what possessed him to say such things. He knew what he would have sung next, though. It echoed in his head like a dream, as if he had wanted to say it all along.

_Where would we walk, where would we run_

_If we could stay all day in the sun_

_Just you and me, and I could be_

_Part of your world_

Below him, she stirred ever so slightly. Her eyes twitched, then slowly slid open.

Averil froze. He knew he should escape, quickly, get out of there before she saw him- but it was like something had stuck him to that spot, unable to look away from her sky blue eyes.

A loud, barking sound broke Averil's trance, and he sat up quickly. Panicked by the sound, he dove for the water, hoping beyond hope that she hadn't seen his tail.

Breathing heavily, Averil ducked behind the closest rock. The barking sound was closer now, followed by a frantic voice. It sounded like the princess' servant, the one who had been bothering her about suitors.

"_Princess Erryn, thank heavens! We thought for sure you had perished in the storm! Such a dreadful business, shipwrecks. Now come along dear, we must get you inside and dried off-"_

"_No, Grim, wait a minute."_

"_My lady?"  
"There was...did you see anyone, just now?"_

"_What? I saw no one, my lady..."_

"_There was a boy. There was a boy here, just now, he rescued me! Grimsby, didn't you see him?"_

Averil's breath caught in his throat. For a moment, his heart stopped beating completely. She had seen him after all.

"_My lady, I think perhaps you were hallucinating? Seawater can do that, you know. Now let's get back to the castle."_

"_No, Grim, he was real, I know he was. He was- he was singing. Grimsby, you have to believe me, I couldn't have swum this far on my own! Someone rescued me."_

"_Er...yes, well, I suppose. But I don't see anyone around, so there's nothing to be done."_

Grimsby sounded more irritable than anything. Clearly he didn't really believe her.

Averil risked a very quick peek around the rock, and saw Erryn's searching gaze. Searching for him. His face stung as she turned away at last, her eyes downcast. She allowed Grimsby to lead her away, but she kept looking back. It was obvious that she hadn't thought her rescuer a hallucination at all. She wasn't going to give up.

For several minutes, Averil made no sound. He closed his eyes and just took a moment, trying to sort out what was going on in his head.

Slowly, his breathing returned to normal. His short hair fluttered in the wind, dried out by so much time in the sun.

"Averil?"

Flounder sounded worried. He always sounded worried. That guppy.

"I'm fine," Averil mumbled. "Let's just- let's just go."

Flounder didn't drop it.

"Averil, are you okay?" he asked, more persistently.

After a moment of silence, Averil opened his eyes. Surprisingly, a small smile appeared on his face.

"I'm fine," he repeated, softer this time.

"Now that we are all fine, let us go!" Sebastien interjected. "And no one breathes a _word_ of this to anyone, you got that? You don't tell the king, I don't tell the king, and maybe we can all make it out of this intact."

With that, the trio dove beneath the surface once more. Destination: Atlantica.

* * *

**So there you have it. Now I know many of you are probably questioning my choices here with "Part of Your World", and I can explain it all in one simple phrase: Boys. Don't. Sing. They just don't, not the way girls do. If I had Averil stick with exactly what Ariel did, he would have come off as far more fey than any of us want. So I'm playing this like a real love story. I needed something about Erryn to make Averil love her, besides the fact that she's human, and it made much more sense to have him pick up that song from her. Also, I know Erryn is coming off as a bit more main character-ish than the original Eric did- a lot of that has to do with circumstances. I'm trying very hard not to change the personality, but with that comes having to deal with the circumstances as they come. It happens. I'm doing my best.  
I hope none of this has put anyone off as a reader. As usual, read and review please! Thank you!**


	3. Chapter 3: Secrets

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! I am SO SORRY this chapter took this long, I've been trying to get it done forever, but school got hectic and then I had to go to a conference plus I'm writing another fanfic at the moment, so...yes. My head's a bit jumbled-up. Forgive me.  
Now I've done some interesting things with this chapter, which (as usual) will be explained at the end to avoid spoilage. Pay close attention to descriptive words- in many places, the dialogue is identical to the original, but the descriptions make it very different. Oh, one last thing- if you're looking for a visual reference for what Alec looks like, try "Treasure Planet"s Jim Hawkins. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Fathoms Below**

_A Genderbent Fanfiction_

_By Auryn Rei Evroren_

Chapter Three: Secrets

"Averil."

...

"_Averil."_

...

"AVERIL!"

"What?!"

Averil jumped a mile when he heard his name. He'd been so distracted that he hadn't even heard Alec calling him. He was daydreaming again, laying on his stomach on his bed, fingers absently picking at a loose thread on his pillow.

"What is _with_ you today?" his brother demanded. "It's like you're not even awake."

Averil rubbed at his eyes.

"Sorry," he apologized quickly. "What's up?"

Alec rolled his eyes. He was beginning to wonder why he'd even asked Averil for his help in the first place. Ansel didn't have Averil's artistic eye, but at least he would have paid attention. Unfortunately, the older brothers were all doing princely things that day. Alec and Averil had chores too, but for now, they went undone.

Indicating his freshly-rearranged portion of the room, Alec repeated his query.

"I said, how does it look?" he asked. "I like the posters where they are, but something still feels weird about it." Alec's earring glinted in the light as he surveyed his work. He redecorated his bed area almost every other week, but he took it seriously every time.

Glancing over, Averil saw the problem right away.

"It's the glowstone," he said, waving a hand dismissively. "You had it under the Aquanettes poster before, you said you liked how the light fell on it. Try moving that."

He returned to his brooding position, again very focused on his pillow.

Surely enough, when Alec moved the glowstone as Averil suggested, he was immediately satisfied. He offered his brother a sarcastic round- of applause.

"Thank you," he sneered. He raked a hand through his messy brunette locks, contemplating his next move. Clearly something was up with Averil. He was normally a daydreamer in his own little world, but this was a little much even for him. He hadn't left their room all morning, which was strange considering how often he was begging to get out. It wasn't hard to put the pieces together.

Alec dropped onto Averil's bed, forcing his little brother to scoot over. Smirking, he leaned in close, hovering right next to Averil's ear.

"So what's her name?" he asked wickedly.

Averil's eyes went wide. He glared at his pillow, refusing to meet Alec's eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he muttered. "Get off my bed."

Alec threw back his head and laughed, his suspicions confirmed.

"Come on, little brother, you can't hide anything from _me_," he drawled. "Your head is a million miles away. Either you've sustained some kind of brain damage while I wasn't looking, or you met a girl."

Averil growled under his breath.

"I said, get off my bed," he snapped.

True to form, the ever-rebellious Alec simply grinned and leaned heavily on Averil's back, putting almost his whole weight into it.

"Not until you tell me what's going on," he threatened, an evil glint in his slate-gray eyes.

All bets were off. In a single motion, Averil twisted round so he was on his back, swinging wildly at his brother. Alec laughed and caught Averil by the wrists, holding his squirming little brother at bay.

"Tell me," he taunted. Averil shook his head in determination. He tried to slap Alec with his tail, but his brother had him pinned down rather well. Averil could barely move.

"Tell me," Alec wheedled once more. "Come on, Averil, tell me what's going on."

"If I tell you, will you get off me?" Averil snarled.

Alec nodded.

Averil sighed, screwing his eyes shut tight. This was ridiculous, but if he was going to tell anyone...well, Alec was the least likely the cause problems. As a fellow troublemaker, Alec would never consciously betray him. That was more than could be said for any of his other brothers.

Averil took a deep breath.

"It's not a- well, it is, but not- it's not just a girl," he mumbled. Alec released his wrists and sat back, listening intently. Still, Averil would not meet his eyes.

"There was a shipwreck," Averil said carefully.

Alec raised a brow.

"That's not so unusual," he said, obviously disheartened. "They're all over the ocean floor. Shark traps, most of them."

"No," Averil interrupted. "Not an old one. In the storm, the other night. I saw a ship go down. It hit the jetty, out past the kelp forest."

Alec said nothing. He continued to stare at his brother. Averil was beating around the bush, he was sure. A shipwreck wasn't such a big deal that he would be brooding over it. Plus, he _had_ mentioned something about a girl.

The elder merprince's mouth fell open.

"Averil, tell me you didn't do what I think you did," he whispered.

Slowly, Averil nodded.

"When the ship went down, there was a girl on board. A human girl."

Averil's voice was faint. He could barely believe it himself, honestly. But he had agreed to tell all.

"She- she would have drowned, Alec, I couldn't leave her there. I couldn't just sit back and watch her die."

Rubbing at his temples, Alec muttered a few choice words under his breath. He certainly hadn't learned those here at the palace.

"Remind me never to ask what's up with you ever again," he said. He pushed himself away from Averil's bed and began silently pacing back and forth, his tailfin flipping about nervously.

"You get how bad this is, right?" Alec asked sharply. "If anyone- _anyone_ finds out about this, you're more than just sharkbait."

"I know," Averil answered miserably. "Trust me, I know."

"You _rescued_ a _human_ from drowning."

"Yep."

Alec ran his fingers through his hair again, like he always did when he was nervous, or thinking hard about something. Still, a grin spread across his face.

"I gotta hand it to you though," he chuckled, "You sure don't do anything halfway."

Averil didn't know whether or not that was a compliment.

"Just don't tell anyone," he emphasized. "You say a word to anybody about this, and I swear I will drag you down with me."

Alec nodded.

"Deal," he said firmly. He extended his hand, and the brothers shook on it. If they were lucky, that would be that.

Needless to say, they weren't lucky.

* * *

Days later, when Sebastien first heard that the Sea King wished to see him, his thoughts immediately jumped to the worst case scenario. _ He knows_, he thought, panicking. _He knows, and there's gonna be crab soup for dinner._

Still, no matter how afraid, one did not refuse King Triton an audience. There was little Sebastien could do to conceal his fears. When he first spoke, his voice came out high and squeaky. He cleared his throat and tried again, in a more normal tone.

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

The King beckoned his right-hand crab into the cavernous throne room, a deeply pensive look on his face.

"Sebastien," he said, his rumbling voice echoing through the large room. "I'm concerned about Averil."

Sweating bullets, Sebastien raised a brow.

"Averil, sir?"

Triton propped his head on his hand and stared thoughtfully into the distance.

"Arren tells me he's been quiet lately," Triton mused. "He doesn't speak to anyone but Alec, and he's been away from home during the day more than usual. His chores aren't getting done. I'm beginning to think he's more distracted than usual for a reason."

The king narrowed his eyes at Sebastien, mysterious as always.

"You haven't noticed anything, have you, Sebastien?"

The little crab gulped. His legs were knocking together, producing the most obnoxious rattling sound.

"W-w-well, I," he began, but his mouth wouldn't cooperate. He just knew that Triton was baiting him, waiting for him to say something completely wrong. The water in the room felt warmer than usual.

Triton grinned, all of a sudden. Sebastien's eyes went wide.

"I've seen it before," the king said with a chuckle. "His brothers were all just the same. I thought we were going to have to nail Antony's fins to the floor when he was younger."

Sebastien didn't follow. If the King was knew that Averil was keeping secrets, then...why did he seem so happy about it? It wasn't in his nature to be pleased by the misbehavior of his children. Triton liked to keep all of his ducks in a row. This laughter made no sense.

"Before, sir?" Sebastien asked weakly.

The Sea King's shoulders were shaking with laughter. He twined his fingers through his long white beard, smiling as he had not done in a very long time.

"He's in love with a girl," Triton said matter-of-factly.

That was it for Sebastien's resolve. He had no idea what was happening, but before he knew it, he had burst into frantic hysteria.

"I tried to stop him, sir!" he howled, burying his face in the king's beard. He dropped to his knees- or the closest thing crabs have to knees –and wept with shame.

"He wouldn't listen!" Sebastien bawled. "I _told_ him to stay away from humans, they are _bad, _they are trouble-"

A sudden chill fell over the room. Where moments before, Sebastien had felt like he swam in a cooking pot, he now shivered from the king's aura alone.

Triton was up in a splitsecond.

"Humans?" he demanded. _"What about humans?"_

Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no, backstroke, quickly, get out of there while you still can-

Sebastien smiled nervously.

"Humans?" he asked, as innocent as he could be. "Who said anything about...humans?..."

Just outside the throne room, a singular merfigure detached itself from the wall, all eavesdropping finished. Olive green fins flashed rapidly through the water, leaving trails of bubbles in their wake. If he moved quickly enough, he might be able to reach the grotto before Triton did.

* * *

Averil had just placed the last thingamajigger back in its box on his shelf when he heard the grating sound of the grotto stone being moved. He exchanged furtive looks with Flounder, then stared suspiciously at the stone. It could only be one other person. Only one other knew about the grotto and had the strength to move the stone.

Sure enough, Alec poked his head in a moment later. He looked completely out of breath, and very, very upset.

"He knows," Alec panted. "He knows, you have to get this stuff out of here!"

As if struck by lightning, Averil shot into motion. It was his worst nightmare come to life. 'He' could only be their father, and if Triton found the grotto, they were all screwed. Both young mermen began throwing things into various bags and boxes, frantically trying to hide it all.

"It's no use," Averil hissed. "There's too much of it!"

He turned to simply make a mad dash for it and run away from home, but found his path blocked.

King Triton looked nothing short of _livid._ He held his magical trident in one hand, as always, but for the first time in his life, Averil felt like the weapon might be aimed at _him._ Sebastien hovered just behind the sea king, trembling from head to toe. It wasn't too difficult to figure out what had happened. It was not Alec who had sold him out.

"Dad-" Averil began, but his father cut him off.

"I consider myself," Triton rumbled, "-a reasonable merman. I set certain rules, and I expect those rules to be obeyed."

Averil flexed his tail nervously, and found a cold wall of coral shelving at his back. His father had him up against the wall, literally. Alec was slinking farther and farther into the shadows between the two, wanting to be as far from the splash zone as possible.

Averil tried again.

"Dad, I'm sorry, I just-"

"_Is it true you rescued a human from drowning?"_

"Dad, I had to!"

Triton's gray eyes flashed with rage.

"Contact between the human world and the merworld is strictly forbidden, Averil, you know that!" the king bellowed. "Everyone knows that!"

"She would have died!" Averil protested, his face flushing red. He was getting more and more heated up by the second. Triton's temper problems, it seemed, were hereditary.

Triton flapped a hand, just the way Averil always did, dismissing his words without a thought.

"One less human to worry about," he growled.

"You don't even know her," Averil argued. His voice deepened as his anger bubbled closer and closer to the surface.

The King turned a disbelieving eye on his youngest (and most problematic) son.

"Know her?" he repeated, confounded. "I don't have to _know her_, they're all the same! Spineless, savage, harpooning fish-eaters, incapable of any feeling or-"

That was it. Averil's hands balled into fists, and he squared his shoulders. He wasn't afraid of his father, he was too angry to be afraid.

"Dad, I love her!" Averil hollered at the top of his lungs.

The room froze. Triton's jaw fell open in complete and utter shock.

"No," he breathed, his grip on his trident tightening. "Have you lost your senses completely? She's a human! You're a merman!"

Averil crossed his arms defiantly over his chest.

"I don't care," he spat.

It seemed that was the last straw. Triton raised his trident, which had begun to glow a soft, steady yellow.

"So help me, Averil," Triton declared, "I am going to get through to you."

He brandished the weapon at the wall behind Averil's head, and suddenly the young merman realized exactly what his father was about to do.

"And if this is the only way, so be it!" Triton thundered.

A strong force collided with Averil from the side, knocking him to the ground just in time. Triton released a bolt of pure magic from the trident, smashing everything within two meters of where Averil had been only moments before.

It was all Alec could do to hold his little brother down for a few seconds. Averil struggled, and threw him off with a strength that only this much rage could have produced in him.

"Dad, stop!" Averil shouted, to no avail.

Triton continued his destructive blasting, destroying every remnant of humans he could see. Whatchamacallits exploded into dust, and doohickeys flew in every direction. Statuettes, figurines, pictures, everything exploded in a burst of golden light and bubbles.

Alec grasped desperately at Averil's arms, trying to hold him out of the line of fire. The younger was screaming, his usually musical voice growing rough pleading for his father to stop. Triton was having none of it. He would not rest until the entire grotto was destroyed.

Everything went up in bubbles, even the one shelf dedicated to things Averil had made, rather than found. Only when all of the shelves were empty, chipped, and scarred did the Sea King end his violent rampage.

Averil went limp in his brother's arms. He trembled from head to toe, from anger, shock, or both he did not know. Sensing the damage he had done- or perhaps just wanting to definitively have the last word –King Triton turned and slowly left them.

Tentatively, Alec deposited his brother on the sea floor. He didn't think Averil had the strength even to keep himself afloat right that moment. He, Flounder, and the ashamed Sebastien looked on in pity as the youngest sea prince fought with his warring emotions. He shed no tears, but the haunted look on his face told them everything. This was too much for tears. Triton hadn't just hurt his youngest son, he had nearly destroyed him.

"Averil," Alec tried, but Averil shot him a deadly glare.

"Just get out," he whispered, his voice hoarse from the yelling. "Go away, all of you."

When none of them moved, he swung a fist at Alec, who blocked it easily.

"GET OUT!" Averil roared.

Though none of them believed leaving him alone was a good idea, all three of Averil's companions acquiesced. They drifted out the door, casting many concerned looks back as they did so.

Averil drew up his tail close to his chest. He crossed his arms and buried his face in them, as if by hiding his face from the world, he could hide himself as well.

Outside, Alec knew he had no choice but to return to the palace. Triton wouldn't accept his being there for much longer, no matter the circumstances. Plus, one prince in a world of trouble was enough for one day.

"Keep an eye on him," he advised the other two. Flounder and Sebastien both nodded.

All of them knew that, heavy as their hearts now were, they couldn't begin to fathom how Averil was feeling.

That was a very scary thought.

* * *

Every merchild in Atlantica grew up hearing the stories of the great and terrible sea-witch, Ursula. She was said to have been a palace resident, the highest of society, in the days before Triton became king. Some rumors even suggested that she might have secretly been Triton's sister (though these were highly implausible and never confirmed or denied). She was banished from Atlantica for use of dark magic in an attempt to take the throne for herself. King Triton prevailed, defeating the evil witch, and she slunk away into the shadowy depths to lick her wounds.

Generally speaking, the sea-witch was a ghost story, a scary tale told to children to keep them from staying out late at night. 'Be careful, or the sea-witch will get you!'

Still, no one knew that the threat they warned their children about in jest was in fact very real. No one would have suspected Ursula's minions at first glance.

The pair of nearly-identical moray eels slithered through the water, slipping and twining around one another. Their heterochromatic white and yellow eyes surveyed the grotto, waiting for just the right moment. Their mistress would never forgive them if they ruined her plans with carelessness now.

"Poor child," one of them hissed, causing the distraught young merman to look up in surprise. When he caught sight of them, Averil raised a wary brow in question.

"Poor, sweet child," crooned the second. The eels circled Averil, sizing him up, their flexible bodies bending and twisting like ribbons through the water.

"He has a very serious problem."

The pair of eels were as creepy as creepy could get. Their voices were low, enticing, yet reverberated through the grotto with a spine-tingling echo.

"If only there were something we could do," intoned the first eel- or was it the second? The way they were twining around like that, it was impossible to tell. If he hadn't been able to see them, Averil would have suspected one eel of talking to himself, rather than two.

The second eel grinned, a terrifying, fanged grin.

"But there _is_ something," it replied smoothly, the suggestion clearly planted.

Not in the mood for games after the loss of his collection, Averil crossed his arms and prepared to defend himself. There was something suspicious about these two.

"Who are you?" he demanded, his voice low and calculating.

"Don't be scared," one eel said. It inched closer and closer to Averil's face. The young prince leaned back, discomforted by the proximity.

He felt a cold, slick ribbon against his skin, and found (to his intense dislike) that the second eel was twining itself around _him_ now.

"We represent someone who can help you," it murmured softly, syrupy sweet. "Someone who can make all your dreams come true."

Averil moved back, away and out of the eels' grip. They circled one another once more, twirling and entwining as if actually one being.

"Just imagine," they hissed in unison, bringing their heads close together, nuzzling each other. "You and your princess."

"Together," said one.

"Forever," they both finished.

So that was their game? But what could two little eels possibly do about that? Averil shook his head, frustrated by his own confusion.

"I don't understand," he said carefully.

The eels smirked at him, their game was clearly going well.

"Ursula has great power," one of them said darkly.

Averil froze in shock. Of all the things...

"The sea witch?" he asked in disbelief. What a ludicrous idea, to go chasing down a known criminal for his own personal gain. Even if he did trust her, which he really didn't, it was still completely out of the question.

"I couldn't possibly," he snarled, returning to his original spot on the floor. "Get out of here, leave me alone."

Exchanging knowing looks, the eels drifted away, their slinky bodies flowing through the water as if part of it.

"Suit yourself," one of them drawled.

"It was only a suggestion," added the other.

The mer-prince watched as their shadows twisted ever closer to the doorway. He clenched his teeth. What insanity, to go to the sea witch for help. Why, his father would have killed him for even entertaining the idea. It simply wasn't done. Anything Ursula could do, Triton could do better.

That forced the question, though, which was more important to Averil now? It might once have been bearable, to give up that beautiful dream of a woman in lieu of his family and his entire undersea life, but how much of that was even left to protect anymore? After everything Averil held dear was viciously destroyed by his own father, did he even _want_ to be here?

It wasn't a good plan. In fact, it was probably a very, very bad plan. But nothing sounded worse to Averil right then than losing both his family and his love. It was painfully clear that if Averil refused to give up his hopes for Erryn, his family life would be lost. As his current life would be nothing without her, that left him only the one option: Get her. She was the last ray of sunshine on his horizon, and he was never going to let that go without a fight. Perhaps in this case, the ends could justify the means.

"Wait," Averil said.

As if they had been waiting for it- which they had –the two moray eels returned their unnerving gazes to the prince.

"Yes?" they chorused sweetly.

As they met the newly-determined eyes of the youngest prince of Atlantica, the eels knew their trap had been set perfectly. An understanding between them, the two eels and the merman swiftly left the grotto, with a new destination in mind.

Only a few meters away from the grotto, Averil's suspicions about his friends waiting outside for him proved to be true. Flounder and Sebastien swam up behind them, casting mistrustful looks at Averil's eerie guides.

"Averil, where are you going?" Sebastien asked. He sounded worried, but Averil was not concerned about that. The little crab came closer, propelling himself with his claws until he was an inch from Averil's face.

"Averil, what are you doing here with this riff-raff?" he asked, a bit more discreetly.

"I'm going to see Ursula," Averil answered smoothly.

Gasping in surprise, Sebastien fell back, momentarily stunned. Still, he used his pincers to grasp the very end of Averil's turquoise tailfin, trying in vain to pull him back.

"Averil, no!" he pleaded. "She's a demon, she's a monster-"

Having had enough, Averil stopped and glared at the crab.

"Why don't you go tell my father," he snarled, finally throwing Sebatsien's betrayal in his face. "You're good at that."

That was enough to stun him once more, it seemed. Sebastien fell away, his crimson flesh paling in shock and shame. Averil vanished into the dark water after the eels. For all Sebastien pretended not to care, the irreparable harm he had done to Averil had left him feeling much more hurt than he let on. He had never meant to betray Averil's secret. It was an accident.

A blue fin poked Sebastien in the side, jarring him into motion.

"Come on," Flounder said, pulling Sebastien away into the darkness. Hurt feelings or not, they still had a job to do.

* * *

**Author's Note: So there you have it! Chapter three. Now, I know in the original story, Ariel's sisters didn't really play a big role, but quite frankly, I always wondered why. Since I now get to call the shots, I'm giving Averil some brotherly bonds, which is why Alec is so prevalent in this chapter. I think it's only fair that Averil has at least one ally. I think of it as him having a tighter bond with Alec to make up for a lesser bond with Triton, in a weird roundabout way. Face it, Ariels "Daddy's Little Girl" routine doesn't work as well with a boy, so I'm improvising a bit.  
****I hope you're all still liking the story! Don't forget to read and review please! Thank you for your patronage.**


	4. Chapter 4: Changes

**Author's Note: Bonjour my dear readers! This chapter is still a little iffy in my book, but I wanted to put it up for you now anyway, because I understand what it's like to wait on a new chapter. I may edit it later at some point, who knows. It's a tad bit shorter than the rest, because of the way I wanted the chapter divides to fall, but try not to let that get you down. I'll have more updates soon! As always, remember to read and review!**

* * *

**Fathoms Below**

_A Genderbent Fanfiction_

_By Auryn Rei Evroren_

Chapter Four: Changes

The seas grew darker and darker the deeper they swam. Around Atlantica, all was well-lit, as it should be in a kingdom of that caliber. Ursula's home, however, was far from that light. She had made her nest in the ancient skeleton of a Leviathan, in waters so deep that the sea floor was littered with steam vents. They bubbled and hissed, releasing the heat that lay inside the earth's core. It was almost exactly as Averil had pictured the witch's lair as a child. The Leviathan's skeleton cast distorted shadows in the eerie half-light.

As Ursula's eels led the way through the Leviathan's mouth and into their mistress' domain, Averil heard a terrible screeching, moaning sound. His mouth twisted into a grim line as he glanced down and saw that the sound came from a grouping of ugly polyps that grew from the floor. Unlike regular polyps, though, these ones bore miserable, ugly faces. They writhed and twisted on the sea floor, moaning horribly.

With a snapping sound, one of the polyps stretched itself thin and wrapped itself around Averil's wrist, trapping him in place. Averil tore his hand out of its grasp with disgust. He rubbed at his arm, shuddering at the sensation of the polyp's slimy touch. It sent shivers up his spine.

"_Come in_," a low, drawling voice drifted from up ahead. It echoed monstrously, and the little polyps flinched and writhed even worse at the sound. Averil peered up the passageway and into the main cavity of the lair. For all it was dark and dank in there, Ursula's had managed some semblance of décor. Pink, red, and peach-colored strands of seaweed and coral hung from the ceiling like streamers at a party. At the back of the room, a hollowed-out shell embedded in the wall provided the sea witch a place to sleep.

From the darkness of the shell, her voice echoed through the lair.

"Come in, my child," she repeated. A set of black and violet tentacles emerged from the shell, preceding the sea witch's body, and Averil realized what she must be. He hung back as far from her as possible, as she slid her voluptuous body out of her hiding place, coming to rest on the floor in front of him.

"We musn't lurk in doorways," she chided him in her sultry tone. "It's _rude_."

The sea-witch Ursula of legend was, in fact, a relatively ordinary creature. She was a Cecaelia, a lesser-known cousin of the traditional mermaid. While her torso was humanoid, from the waist down she bore the tentacles of an octopus. Averil had met only one in his time prior to meeting Ursula. He was puzzled by her lavender-tinged skin. Usually Cecaelia had green skin. He shuddered to think what spell she had cast that rendered her violet.

Ursula was an imposing woman from the start. In any other scenario, Averil might have dared to call her obese. However, that didn't seem appropriate here. The tuft of white hair that grew from her head was styled to point skyward, though like every other seaperson, it moved and flowed with the water that surrounded them. Averil swallowed his commentary.

Ursula flounced across the room to her vanity table and mirror, her tentacles swirling around like a human dress. She delicately took a seat (impressive for such a large woman) and began tending to her appearance as a classic diva.

"One might question your upbringing," she added offhandedly.

Averil had expected someone terrifying and loud, or wizened and decrepit. This smooth, debonair entrance was enough to throw out Averil's expectations completely, leaving him feeling a little off-guard. A small part of him wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. Still, the faint echo of the polyps' moaning at his back convinced Averil to stay put.

The sea witch smiled at herself in the mirror as she freshened her lipstick.

"Now," she said, smacking her lips. "You're here because you have a thing for this princess girl, right?"

She glanced at him over her massive shoulder, a sly grin on her face. Averil could only nod in response. The sea witch chuckled.

"The solution to your problem is simple," she said casually. She turned back to the mirror and inspected her face as she talked to Averil.

"The only way to get what you want," she said, "-is to become a human yourself."

Averil had somewhat expected this possibility. There were, after all, a limited number of ways to bring a human and merman together, if you looked at it logically.

"Can you do that?" he asked softly, as he watched her massage mousse into her white hair.

Ursula smiled, and abandoned her primping. She flexed her many tentacles and floated to hover right in front of Averil, a sweet smile in place.

"My dear, sweet child," she crooned, like an old aunt talking to a young child. "That's what I _do._"

Averil willed himself to stay in place as she wandered around him, the same way her eels had done. He didn't like the sensation of being surrounded, or watched from all angles, but he was on her turf. One did not needlessly question the most dangerous witch in all the ocean on her hosting style.

"It's what I live for," Ursula continued dramatically. "To help unfortunate merfolk, like yourself. Poor souls with no one else to turn to."

That smile never left her face. He voice was thick with honeyed words, which reminded Averil of every nosy old granny he'd ever known. It was uncomfortable, to say the least, and the merprince was slightly ashamed to admit to himself that he was a little frightened of her.

As her eels twined about her like catfish, Ursula dragged a streamer of pink seaweed from her ceiling garden and draped it around her shoulders like a boa. The polyps behind Averil grew louder, their wailing nearly unbearable.

The sea-witch threw her new 'boa' around Averil's shoulders and dragged him in close. If he had thought her lair was uncomfortable, this was a thousand times worse. She radiated heat, and her tentacles flexed in every direction at once. She was beyond overbearing. If Ursula got her hands on him and decided to hold on, Averil knew he was a dead man. He gulped, and forced himself to ignore it.

"Now, here's the deal," the witch hissed. With one hand, she gestured at the center of the room, where the toothy skeleton of the Leviathan had provided her a craggy cauldron. It glowed with an eerie light. Towing Averil closer, Ursula used her magic to produce a visual representation of her offer.

"I can make you a potion that will turn you into a human for three days," she said, her tone suddenly sharper, more business-like. "Got that? _Three days_."

Averil nodded, his lips pursed. His eyebrows knit in concentration. He swiped at one of her creeping tentacles as it danced across his arm, unwilling to be distracted.

"Now listen carefully, this is important," she warned him. The cauldron spit out three glowing, golden spheres that spun like miniature suns.

"Before the sun sets on the third day, you'll have to get your darling little princess to fall in love with you," Ursula declared saucily. "That is, she'll have to kiss you."

She vanished from one side of him, appearing instantaneously on the other.

"Now, this isn't just any kiss," the witch added with the firm tone of a reprimand. "It must be a kiss worthy of _true love_." She chuckled darkly.

"A handsome young lad like you shouldn't have a problem with that," she drawled, winking.

The cauldron, seemingly 'listening' to Ursula's speech, produced images to match her continuing deal. First a glowing tiara, then a heart. It was like puppet theater. Creepy, slimy, uncomfortable puppet theater.

Ursula gave Averil's arm a squeeze, then turned her attention to the cauldron. Suddenly, it glowed a brighter, warmer gold. Averil saw an image of his own silhouette, and couldn't hide his sharp intake of breath when he realized that the image had a pair of human legs in place of a tail.

Ursula's smile was sharp as a razor's edge.

"If you do manage to kiss her," she said wryly, "You'll remain a human permanently."

Averil's bright blue eyes glowed in the reflection of the image, transfixed by it. To be human- and with Erryn –was all he really wanted out of his life. There was nothing left for him under the sea. What he had right now was a chance at perfection, a chance at heaven itself.

The sea witch didn't miss that expression.

"But," she continued cruelly, "If you don't...you'll turn back into a merman."

The image flashed blue, and when Averil looked again, he saw himself as he was now, a long, turquoise tail where he wished legs would be. After his hopes had risen so, it was almost painful to see. The realization settled itself in Averil's mind, steeling his resolve. He would not let that happen.

Unfortunately for him, Ursula wasn't quite finished.

"Oh, and did I mention the fine print?" she added in a tantalizing singsong fashion. "If you fail..."

Her eyes narrowed, and she stared hungrily at Averil, as if he were a morsel on her plate. That look made him shiver.

"_You'll belong to me,"_ she said, her voice low and dangerous. The young merprince was forcibly reminded of why exactly the legendary Ursula was so very feared in Atlantica. The moaning and screeching of the polyps grew to a terrible volume, but was suddenly shushed by an evil look from the sea witch. The implication that 'belonging' involved being transformed into one of them was impossible to miss.

From underneath the wailing polyps, Averil's ears caught another sound, a muffled sort of gurgling sound. When he turned to find the source, he found that both Flounder and Sebastien had followed him to the witch's lair. The eels had captured them, wrapping their flexible bodies around the pair, stifling their mouths.

Averil shot Sebastien a dirty look- he hadn't forgotten the crab's betrayal –but turned his attention back to Ursula. The best way to all get out of there safely was to finish his business with her.

"Have we got a deal?" the sea witch purred expectantly.

Pondering, Averil raked his fingers through his vibrant red hair.

"If I become human," he murmured to himself softly. "I'll never see my father or brothers again." A miniscule smile twitched at the corners of his lips. To never have to face the condescension of King Triton or his perfect princely sons again...it was tempting.

"That's right," Ursula encouraged, her voice soothingly persuasive. "And you'll have your girl."

She held out a hand, which Averil reached out to take.

"_You say a word to anybody about this and I swear I'll drag you down with me."_

"_Deal."_

As if burned by a steam vent, Averil suddenly yanked his hand back.

"_He knows! He knows, you have to get this stuff out of here!"_

"Alec," Averil muttered. He tore his gaze away from Ursula's prying eyes. He cast a disappointed look at the mottled sea floor. He arms instinctively wrapped themselves around himself as if he were suddenly very cold.

Averil could trick himself into believing that none of his family truly cared about him, if he wished to do so. With his father, it was particularly easy. The only exception to this rule was Alec. Alec and Averil had been partners in crime (literally) since before Averil could remember. It was Alec who had kept Averil's secret, and Alec who had tried so valiantly to warn him when his father found out. It was Alec who threw Averil to the ground to keep him from harm when Triton destroyed the grotto.

Was Averil's love for one brother enough to outweigh his desperate desire for freedom?

"There _is_ one more thing."

Ursula's sultry voice dragged Averil out of his distraction. He only turned his head slightly to the side to indicate that he was listening, rather than face her.

"We haven't discussed the subject of payment," the witch continued. "You can't get something for nothing, you know." Averil could feel her gaze boring holes into the back of his head.

"I don't have anything you'd want," Averil mumbled darkly. It was true. Everything of value had gone up in bubbles at the grotto.

"I'm not asking much," Ursula declared. "Merely a trifle. You won't even miss it."

Confused, Averil finally turned to look the sea witch in the eye. He raised a brow at her, wondering what she could possibly want that he might have.

The Cecaelia grinned at him with the sly smile of a trickster.

"What I want from you is..." she purred. "Your _voice_."

For a moment, Averil thought he had to have misheard her. But judging from the look on her face, that possibility was slim.

"My voice?" he repeated. The witch nodded.

What on _earth_ was she going to do with the voice of a sixteen-year-old merman? How would she even _get_ such a thing? On second thought, Averil realized, he probably didn't want to know how she'd get it. Don't question the witch.

"You want me," Averil said slowly, "-to get a human girl to fall in love with me in only three days without my _voice?_"

"You got it, sweetcakes," Ursula confirmed, eyes flashing with mirth. "No more talking, singing, _zip._"

This new development made Averil's plan seem, if possible, even more preposterous. It was nearly impossible to get a girl to fall in love in three days to begin with, but to do it completely mute was nothing short of insane.

"You've got to be kidding," he said blithely.

Ursula sniffed haughtily.

"You'll have your looks," she told him firmly. "It's the era of the modern woman, angelfish, she won't need you to _talk_. These days, a lady doesn't need a man to speak for her."

As she spoke, Ursula drifted up to a large cabinet and began collecting bottles and containers filled with suspicious contents. She tossed them into the cauldron, which smoked and glowed in several interesting colors.

"Besides," Ursula crooned, glancing at Averil sidelong. "It's not like I asked for your _hands._"

Averil blushed bright red as the sea witch chuckled under her breath.

"If you want to cross the bridge, you'll have to pay the toll," she said sagely. "Now I am a very busy woman, I haven't got all day. Do we have a deal?"

She snapped her fingers and produced from nowhere a large golden scroll, covered in very small, official-looking script. There was a line at the bottom, clearly designed for a signature. With the scroll came a fishbone pen, which Ursula offered to the young merman.

"Life's full of tough choices, isn't it?" she taunted him.

Without a moment's hesitation (or as some might say, without a bit of common sense), Averil reached out and took the pen in his hand. He took a deep breath, then hastily scratched his name onto the signature line, praying fervently that he wouldn't live to regret it.

The scroll rolled itself up and vanished in a flash of golden light. When the spots faded from Averil's vision, he found that the sea witch was wasting no time. Her cauldron glowed a deep cerulean hue, and she stirred it magically with one finger while she chanted the incantation for her spell.

Averil's skin went ice-cold. Suddenly, he wasn't sure if he was ready for this.

"_Beluga, sevruga, come winds of the Caspian Sea," _Ursula intoned, her voice echoing and reverberating off the walls. It sent shivers down Averil's spine, but he found himself locked in place, unable to move.

"_Larynxes, glossitis, et max laryngitis la voce to me!"_

With the last line of the spell, Ursula raised her hands. Simultaneously, the cauldron emitted a pair a large, skeletal ghost hands, which mimicked the witch's own. Ursula turned her chilling gaze on Averil, who was focusing very hard on not trembling from head to toe.

"_Now, sing!"_ she commanded him.

Sing? Sing what? Averil was never one for improvisation. He tried to sing the first thing that came to mind, calling an image of Princess Erryn into his mind for comfort, but the sound that came out of his mouth was not the lovely notes she had sung. Shaking, Averil closed his eyes, focusing on getting the notes out. He started low and climbed the scale, only using about three notes, the same way Erryn had. As the fear sank into his very bones, his voice grew higher and higher, those three notes rising almost frantically.

Averil flinched visibly when he felt the cold touch of the skeleton hands at his lips. His eyes flew open, widened in pure terror. His entire body felt like it was freezing from the inside out as the hands reached down, into his throat. Averil's vision blurred. His back arched painfully. From behind him, the trapped Flounder and Sebastien gazed on in fervent anxiety.

The ghost hands withdrew as quickly as they had come, leaving the young merman reeling in place. He coughed, his arms drawn in around himself protectively. He stared at the small orb of glowing light that the skeletal spell-hands had taken from him. His voice still echoed from it, just as if he were singing it himself, but it was not Averil who controlled that voice anymore. It didn't feel like he didn't _have_ it, it felt like the voice was no longer his at all.

Ursula's eyes were bloodshot and crazed with magic. She held out her cupped hands, where rested a golden nautilus shell from a necklace she wore around her neck. Averil hadn't noticed it until now. It, too, glowed with magical presence as the spell-hands deposited the shining orb inside.

Instantly, the smoky steam that swirled in the cauldron began to overflow, spinning itself into a whirlpool that surrounded both witch and merman. Ursula cackled madly, her purely evil laughter reverberating so loudly that it shook Averil's bones. The cauldron steam surrounded Averil in a glowing bubble. That was the last thing he remembered clearly before the pain.

The feeling of his tail being savagely ripped in half was not one that Averil wished to experience ever again. Pain shot through his nerves like lightning, blacking out his vision momentarily. His bones began to shift, grating against one another. The turquoise scales began to smooth and flatten, taking on a skinlike peach hue.

Before he knew it, Averil found himself at the mercy of the elements. It had never once occurred to him that transforming from merman to human while underwater would be overly risky. He had always been able to breathe water. It was one thing to know in his head that humans didn't breathe water, and another completely to feel the needles and pins in his lungs from sharp, sudden oxygen deprivation.

He flailed uncontrollably, fighting to make his way to the surface, but found that having two legs was not anywhere near as efficient as a tail for swimming. They jerked every which way, causing him to sink rather than float. Panicked, Averil reached out his arms, determined to swim at least one way he knew how.

Blue fins tucked themselves under his left arm, pumping furiously toward the surface. On his right, a small, clawed arm wrapped itself around his shoulder, pulling him desperately. They vanished up, out through the gaps in the Leviathan skeleton. Averil didn't know if Ursula's laughter was fading away and the light was drawing nearer because they were approaching the surface, or because he was slowly dying.

The cold rush of air hitting his lungs was enough to break the delusion. Averil surged up, out of the water, gasping for breath. Momentarily, he forgot to use his arms and sank once more beneath the waves, but quickly learned his mistake and resurfaced. Flounder and Sebastien continued to help him stay afloat, glancing around to figure out exactly where they were.

Wordlessly, the three of them struck out for the same spit of shoreline they had visited only days before, towing another useless human body.

_At least this time I don't have to care if I'm caught_, Averil thought wearily as the dawn sun rose slowly into the sky.


	5. Chapter 5: New Friends

**Author's Note: Hello reader darlings! First off, I want to thank all of you for your wonderful reviews. I'm so glad to know that my little merman has some fans! With a story as odd as this one, it's good to know that someone approves. I thank you all from the bottom of my ink-splattered heart.  
Now this here is a lotta-stuff-packed-into-a-small-space chapter. I'm excited about it, and I hope all of you are too! This is where we get our first real look at Princess Erryn, and learn a bit more about her. As usual, I've done a few things differently than the original film- let me know what you think of my changes!  
Enjoy!**

* * *

**Fathoms Below**

_A Genderbent Fanfiction_

_By Auryn Rei Evroren_

Chapter Five: New Friends

The sun has risen high overhead by the time they made it to the shore. Fortunately, it didn't take long for Averil to figure out how humans swam with legs. The frantic kicking that caused forward motion used far more energy than swimming with a tail, but at least it kept him afloat.

When at last the struggling threesome reached the shoreline, they were all panting with effort. Averil dragged himself into the shallows with his arms, breathing heavily, but with a rugged sense of triumph. It no longer mattered what he'd left behind. As far as anyone was concerned right now, he was _human_. It was more than he'd ever even dreamed of, right here in his hands.

Even now, as he lifted his new legs out of the water to stare at them, Averil almost couldn't believe it.

A familiar cawing sound from above interrupted his awe, and a grin spread across Averil's face. He looked up and waved at Scuttle, who was circling overhead.

"Well look at what the catfish dragged in!" Scuttle crowed, coming to land (as ungracefully as ever) on one of Averil's new legs. He was hopping about excitedly, pointing at Averil.

"Look at you!" he said brightly. "There's something different about you. It's the hair, right?"

Averil almost snickered at the completely shocked look on Sebastien's face. He'd forgotten that the little crab had never met Scuttle before. He was definitely an acquired taste, especially for someone as uptight as Sebastien.

Scuttle was looking pretty proud of himself, thinking he'd guessed it. It clearly hadn't occurred to him that his usually-tailed friend suddenly looked like a human. Averil took the opportunity to show off his good mood and flicked his leg, dumping the seagull on his behind in the shallow water.

Sputtering, Scuttle's eyes were big as saucers when he came up for air. He twitched uncontrollably, water droplets scattering everywhere. Averil's shoulders shook with silent laughter.

"Where'd you get _those?_" Scuttle asked, staring in shock at Averil's legs.

Sebastien's face was buried in his claws as he answered.

"He traded his voice to the sea-witch and got _legs_," the crab explained glumly. From his overdramatic tone, you'd think the world was ending.

"Now Averil's a human," Flounder added. He was considerably more excited than Sebastien, which was good. "And he's gotta find that princess, and then he's gotta kiss her!"

Averil braced his hands on one of the large rocks that littered the shoreline. Using primarily his arms, he lifted himself out of the water, using the rock to support himself. With bated breath, he tested out the new legs. They were weak and wobbly, but after some work, they would take his weight. Averil frowned. He was _heavy_ now. Standing up was like murder. Did all humans constantly feel this heavy?

"In _three days!_" Sebastien reminded them all, his gloomy voice practically echoing with drama. He indicated Averil, who was still struggling to stand straight. Scuttle pulled himself out of the water, and clumsily fluttered up to perch atop the rock Averil leaned on.

"Just look at him," Sebastien whined. "On legs. _Human legs._"

He gestured wildly, like a terrible actor on a stage.

"My nerves are shot," the crab moaned. "What would his father say?"

"I'll tell you what his father'd say," Sebastien answered himself, now on a full-scale monologue. "He's gonna kill himself a crab, that's what his father'd say! I'm gonna march meself right back home and tell him just like I shoulda done the minute-"

In one clumsy motion, Averil reached down and snatched the little crab up in one hand, dangling him over the water by his shell. He glared menacingly.

"Don't you look at me like that young man!" Sebastien shouted, struggling to free himself from Averil's grip. "You will go back to that witch _right this minute_ and ask for your voice back, do you hear me?"

Averil was about to drop the crab mercilessly into the water (which from this height would not have been fun), when Scuttle whistled loudly. Averil's head snapped up, just in time to get hit in the face with a large piece of thick fabric, which the seagull had just thrown at him.

"You're going to want to wrap up in that, quick, kid," Scuttle said. He was staring up the beach at something. When Averil raised an eyebrow at him in confusion, Scuttle just flapped a wing at him.

"Just trust me on this," he said. Averil heard a faint, slightly familiar barking sound in the distance. He remembered it, the barking that he'd heard the day he rescued the princess.

Averil panicked. Hastily he dragged the rough fabric around his wiry frame, not wanting to appear unclothed before any other humans. From what little he knew, that was seriously frowned upon. Sebastien found a pocket and swiftly buried himself inside. Averil dove up onto the sand, and was surprised to feel how it slid and stuck around his feet like dry mud, making it much harder to keep his balance. The barking became louder and louder.

In an explosion of sound and sand, the creature that made the barking noise appeared. It was a large creature, covered in white and gray hair, that ran on four legs. Startled beyond belief, Averil found himself racing for a large rock that protruded from the sand. The barking animal gave chase, and soon, Averil was stuck on top of the rock with it barking and jumping, trying to reach him.

"Max!"

That sound, too, was familiar. Averil's face immediately heated up at the lovely voice of the girl he wanted to see more than anyone else...just not like _this._

When the princess came dashing into sight, Averil thought her as beautiful as the night he had first met her. Her long black hair had been tied back in an elegant half-ponytail, but a few wisps had escaped into the wind. She wore a plain white shirt, with a simple blue skirt and red sash. Her feet were encased in sensible black boots.

Princess Erryn stopped short when she saw the young man trapped at the mercy of her wayward hound. Her hand went to her mouth instantly.

"Oh my goodness," she gasped. "Max! Heel! I mean, I- I'm so sorry, _Max!_"

She lunged forward and frantically wrapped her thin arms around the animal, pulling him forcefully away from the rock.

"I hope he wasn't bothering you," she said apologetically, holding the dog down by the back of his neck. "He's harmless, really. I'm so sorry. You can come down now."

Carefully, with one eye on the princess, Averil slid down from the rock. He stayed close, though. His heart was about to beat its way out of his chest.

Erryn looked up to apologize once more, but paused. She stared unabashedly into Averil's sea-blue eyes. Her brow furrowed in thought.

"You look..." she said softly. "I mean, you're very, um, familiar. Have we met before?"

She couldn't possibly have held onto that hazy memory of a shipwreck, Averil had thought. Now, his heart leapt. If she remembered him, than this might not be as hard as he had originally thought. As long as she didn't think she'd dreamed him.

He nodded, smiling.

A dazzling smile appeared on Erryn's face.

"I knew it!" she breathed. "It was you."

Her cheeks were flushed with color, darkening her already slightly-tanned skin.

"All this time, and I never thought to come back here," she said with a giggle. Her eyes never left Averil's. "Who are you?"

Only then did Averil remember that he had no voice to speak to her with. That was going to be a problem. He looked away, eyes downcast, trying to figure out what to do about it.

The princess looked at him quizzically.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her sweet voice concerned. "Don't you talk?"

Slowly, Averil shook his head. He couldn't bring himself to look up just yet, he couldn't face what he knew was a disappointed look on her face.

"Oh," she said quietly. "I guess- well, I don't think you're who I thought you were."

It was like listening to her nail a hammer into his coffin. He hadn't been a human for three hours and already his cause was lost.

The princess did not appear to share his sentiment, apparently.

"It's lovely to meet you anyway," she said kindly. Averil found a delicate hand thrust into his field of vision, catching his attention. When he looked up, the princess was smiling at him.

"I'm Princess Erryn," she said, taking his hand and shaking it. She was so forward, Averil couldn't help but smile. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Scuttle and Flounder had vanished, but he figured they were just out of sight, watching. He could still feel Sebastien's hard shell in the pocket of his makeshift cloth covering.

Erryn frowned and put a finger to the corner of her mouth, pensive.

"I don't suppose we can just get on without me knowing your name," she said thoughtfully. Then her smile returned. She was so lovely when she smiled, Averil imagined he could stare at that smile forever.

"Why don't you write it down for me?" Erryn asked.

Averil nodded enthusiastically. He hadn't even thought of that, but it was the perfect solution. He couldn't exactly write her a novel, and he was beginning to think that she might not even believe the truth if he told her. But he could tell her the little things, like his name.

Before he knew it, the princess had taken his hand and dragged him down closer to the water, where the damper sand was. Following her lead, Averil knelt down in the sand and carefully drew out his name.

"Averil?" she said asked. "That's your name?"

He nodded. The princess giggled, tucking her jet-black hair behind her ears to keep it from being blown into her face in the wind.

"That's an unusual name," she said. He simply shrugged in response. It wasn't really unusual where he came from, but she wouldn't know that.

When she went to stand, Averil caught Erryn's hand. He drew a second figure in the sand, under his name. It wasn't the best art in the world, but it was a clearly visible ship. He drew waves around it, just in case she didn't know.

"A ship?" Erryn asked. He nodded again. Then, he added some stripes of lightning in the sky, and sliced the ship in half.

"A shipwreck," the princess guessed shrewdly. "You were in a shipwreck, weren't you? That's how you wound up here, isn't it?"

Well, actually, that wasn't quite what he meant...Averil had been trying to explain that he really _was_ the person who had saved her, but he didn't have the skill to draw a person in the sand. It wasn't the most precise medium.

He felt her tug at his hand once again.

"Come on," Erryn said, her eyes soft. "You should come with me, up to the castle. We can help you."

Slowly, Averil nodded. He very, _very_ carefully got to his feet, and was pleased to find that his wobbles were getting much better. Still, he wasn't sure how well he was going to do walking over a distance.

A warm, furry weight pressed against his side. Averil glanced down, and saw Max the dog staring up at him. His tongue lolled out of his mouth and he panted in the heat, but Averil would have sworn he was grinning. He nosed Averil's hand, and the young man just had to pet him.

"Let's go get you cleaned up," Erryn said. She took Averil's hand, leading him down the beach the way she had come. Max pushed his head against Averil's knee, shoving him forward, but stayed at his side as they set off. Each time Averil wobbled a bit, Max leaned comfortingly against him, keeping him standing straight. Awed, the former merman had to wonder if the dog didn't remember him. It wouldn't have been the craziest thing to happen all day.

With the dog on his left and the princess on his right, Averil grinned. He tilted his head back, letting the wind blow through his crimson hair. He breathed in deeply, savoring the moment. For the first time in sixteen years, he really felt free.

* * *

Averil stared uncomfortably at the tub full of warm water and soap that had been placed in his room. Not that he had anything against bathing, but honestly, he'd just left the water that morning. The last thing he wanted to do was get back in it. However, he had a feeling that the impressively single-minded servant Grimsby would not appreciate a bath boycott.

He was right.

"Don't just stand there, lad, get on with it!"

Averil felt a hand at his back as he was unceremoniously pushed. He staggered, then fell into the bath in a mess of soapy water. The scowl on his face was impossible to miss, but Grimsby didn't seem concerned with it. In fact, he gingerly picked up Averil's makeshift clothing from the beach and wrinkled his nose at it.

"The princess wishes you to dine with her this evening, so we can't have you looking like an orphan from a bad novel, can we?" the old servant said with a chuckle. He handed the tattered fabric off to one of the several other servants who bustled about the room, preparing it for the princess' guest.

Averil was busy scrubbing the dirt off him as quickly as possible. His skin was pink and raw by the time he was done, but he didn't care. Averil scrambled out of the bath, snatching a fluffy white towel from Grimsby's hand. To his credit, the serving man made no jokes, but Averil got the impression that he was hiding a small smile.

When the somewhat grumpy young man was dry, Grimsby presented him with his clothes for the evening. Averil tried to conceal his confusion, he'd figure out how all of it worked after Grimsby was gone. All he could tell was that it was a pile of blue and white fabric.

"They're not quite up to right standard," the elder man said with an imperious sniff, "But they should fit you well enough. Now, dinner is served in the great hall promptly at seven o'clock, but until then, you may do as you please."

Averil perked up a bit. He hadn't thought to expect such a strict environment here, but he supposed that castles on land worked about like castles under the sea. A few hours of free time was nothing to scoff at.

With that, Grimsby turned and left, the other servants in his wake. They took the bathtub with them, leaving the ex-merman alone with his thoughts.

As soon as the old man was out of sight, Averil sighed with relief.

It wasn't until he went to look for him that Averil realized that Sebastien was still in his pocket. The pocket that Grimsby had just taken off to who knew where.

Averil growled and dropped onto the large bed. There went his free afternoon.

* * *

When the princess found her new friend on the floor of the entrance hall peering awkwardly under a decorative table, she politely managed not to laugh. Instead, she just leaned forward and tapped on his shoulder.

Not expecting her, Averil jumped a mile. At that, Erryn couldn't contain her slight giggle. Still, she smiled as he scrambled to his feet.

"I didn't mean to scare you," she said apologetically. "I just wondered what you were doing."

Averil's heart rate dropped back to normal as he just grinned and shrugged. He couldn't very well tell her he was searching for a rogue crab loose in her house. He gestured to her and cocked his head to the side, returning the question.

"Oh, I was just going outside to practice before dinner," she said gaily. She held up a small silver flute.

"The servants don't like it when I practice inside," she explained. "They say it echoes too much. So I go outside and play in the sun instead."

Averil nodded, and repeated his gesture at her.

"You want to come with me?"

She was a good guesser. Perhaps communicating with the princess with no voice wasn't the worst thing to ever happen. Averil sort of felt like she was getting a better look at him. With him unable to tell her the complicated part of who he was and how he came to be there, she was seeing the real Averil, with no distractions.

That was either going to be his salvation or his downfall.

Erryn smiled and held out her hand. She seemed very contact-oriented, but Averil wasn't complaining. He took her hand in his, pleased by how well it fit.

She led him outside, to a large circular balcony which was set upon a sheer cliff overlooking the sea. There was a slatted awning that protruded from the castle wall, to provide shade from the sun. It covered half of the balcony- the outer half was left in open air. Clinging ivy had twined its way around the awning, it's small leaves fluttering in the sea breeze.

"I love it out here," Erryn murmured. "The view is wonderful."

She wasn't lying. Averil didn't currently have the best feelings about living under the sea, but seeing the broad expanse of the ocean from above was the most amazing feeling. It went on forever, disappearing into the horizon. It was endless.

Excited beyond belief, Averil raced to the balcony's edge, leaning out to catch as much of the breeze as possible. It ruffled his hair. Briefly, he thought he caught that familiar scent of what he didn't know were roses.

Averil was so caught up that he almost didn't notice when Erryn joined him at the railing. Without a word, she raised the flute to her lips and began to play.

The tune was not particularly difficult, and only about eight measures long. She started out slowly, just playing the tune (he assumed) the way it was written. When she reached the end of the eighth measure, she went back to the beginning and played it again. This time, she added a few flourishes, making the song her own.

What really surprised Averil was that he actually knew the song. According to the merfolk, it was a song sung by human sailors as they rowed their boats in days of old. It told a sad tale, of a man who returned from voyaging across the seas to find that his true love had married another. Angered, the man tricked his love into coming to sea with him, leaving her husband and child behind. When she discovered his trickery, the woman cursed him for stealing her life away from her. In the end, the ship sank, neither man nor woman to rise from the depths again.

It wasn't a song or tale that a proper young merman was supposed to know. As it was a human song, it was considered by most merfolk to be lewd and inappropriate. It was more frequently heard by border guards and other such ruffians. King Triton would have been furious to think that his youngest son had heard such a thing. Averil sighed into the breeze as he remembered that it was Alec who had taught him the song.

Averil remembered the words to the song, sincerely wishing he had the voice to sing them.

_Well met, well met said an old true love  
__Well met, well met said he  
__I've just returned from the salt, salt sea  
__And it's all for the love of thee_

Averil wondered why the princess had picked that particular song to play. The sad story didn't really fit the day, but maybe she just found it beautiful, like he did.

When she finished the song, Averil softly applauded. Her face went bright red, but she nodded her thanks.

"I've always liked that song," she commented lightly. "It's sad, but it's just too pretty not to play."

Curiously, Averil held out his hand. He indicated her flute, then beckoned for her to let him see it. She did so without hesitation, but watched him intensely. The crimson-haired young man turned the flute over in his hands, inspecting every inch of it. It was beautifully crafted, made of some shiny material he didn't quite understand. Still, many of his human treasures were made with it, like the dinglehopper for one.

"Do you play?" Erryn asked, intrigued by his interest.

Averil held out his hand flat, then tilted it from side to side. _Sort of. Not really._

He returned the flute to her, pleased by his findings. Then he got an idea. Again he used his hands to speak, with one held flat, and the other miming a hammering motion.

As usual, the princess was very quick on the uptake.

"You make things?" she inferred. He nodded, then pointed to the flute.

She squeaked in surprise.

"You make things like _this?_" she asked incredulously. "Like, musical instruments?"

Again, Averil nodded, a mischievous smile on his face. He enjoyed how funny she was when she was surprised. He made a mental note to try to think of other things that would make her squeak.

Erryn brushed her long hair off her shoulder, then propped one hand on her hip.

"You are certainly a mystery, Averil," she said. "I have a feeling getting to know you will be an adventure."

Averil grinned broadly.

They spent the next few hours getting a head start on that adventure. Erryn played a few more songs, none of which Averil recognized. Still, they were all very beautiful. Averil was suitably occupied listening to her songs, with the wondrous ocean view to look at. When the princess wearied of practicing her music, they retreated under the awning to relax in the shade and talk (or mime, in Averil's case).

Erryn told Averil all about her life as a princess. Her parents had been the King and Queen here, but the Queen had never been very healthy. She had died in childbirth when Erryn was nine, along with Erryn's baby brother. The King was devastated, but had taken solace in his remaining daughter. He turned all of his attention to Erryn.

"I guess that's why I'm so different from a normal princess," Erryn said with a shrug. "My father never had a son he could take out riding, or teach to shoot a bow, so he did all of that with me instead. We were vey close."

Her eyes glazed over, as her thoughts drifted into a distant place in her mind.

"Papa and I were all each other had. It was like the two of us against the world. He was even going to teach me how to sail."

Erryn's eyes were sad, even as a smile appeared on her face. A happy idea in a sad memory.

"But he never got the chance," she finished sadly. "There was a sickness that came through, about two years ago. Papa just couldn't make it, I suppose."

Averil hesitantly put an arm around her shoulders. He didn't know if it was appropriate or not, but he wasn't going to let a girl cry alone if he could do something about it.

"I'm okay," she said softly, turning to smile up at him. "It's just a bad memory is all. I'm fine now, and Mama and Papa are both in a better place."

Erryn swiped at her eyes to brush away the brimming tears, and shook her head to clear it. One more deep breath, and she seemed like she really would be okay. Her eyes had that little bit of sparkle back.

"What about you?" she asked. "Are you close with your parents?"

Averil shook his head.

"What about siblings?" Erryn pressed on, unafraid of his silence. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

Nodding, Averil held up six fingers. Erryn gasped in surprise.

"Six siblings?" she asked. "So many! How on earth do you keep everyone straight?"

Thinking of how many times he had been called by one of his brothers' names, Averil just grinned and shrugged.

"Are they girls, or boys?" Erryn asked. "Or some of both?"

Averil shook his head, then pointed to himself. Again, he held up the six fingers.

"Six more boys like you," Erryn guessed. He nodded, smile bright as the sun overhead. He was starting to really like this guessing game. She was very good at it, and learning to speak without his voice was like a new language. Each question was a challenge just waiting for him.

Next, Averil held a hand to the top of his head. Then he moved it over, as though someone were standing next to him, then gestured upward.

"Taller?" Erryn tried. When he shook his head, she had to think for a moment.

"No, older," she said. He nodded, and she grinned triumphantly. She seemed to enjoy the game as much as he did.

"So all of them are older than you, is that right?" she asked. Averil confirmed it.

"That must be hard, being the youngest of seven," she commented. She giggled when he nodded so hard it made him dizzy. "No wonder you're not that close with your parents, with six brothers."

She had no idea just how right she was.

They lapsed into silence for a moment, the pair of them simply enjoying the wind. The sun was beginning to lower in the distance, the horizon gaining a pink and red tint. Soon it would be a full-fledged sunset. It had to be nearly time for dinner, but neither merman nor princess made even the slightest move to go inside.

"Averil?"

The princess' voice was so quiet he barely heard it, but he turned to listen regardless.

Erryn's smile had disappeared, replaced by a self-conscious biting of the lip. She looked almost nervous, if it were possible for such a confident girl to be nervous.

"Why don't you talk?" she asked softly. "Is it...do you just not like it? Or did something happen, like an accident when you were small?"

Averil took a deep breath. He had feared she would ask that question eventually, any normal person would have asked it long before now. He imagined it was out of respect that she hadn't said anything so far. He didn't want to lie to her, but there was really no good way to tell the whole story, even if he thought she would believe it.

Hesitantly, Averil held up one finger and spun it around, asking her to repeat her question. They had done this a few times, so she understood.

"Do you not like it?" she asked. He shook his head, no.

"Something happened," she guessed. Slowly, he nodded.

"The shipwreck?" Erryn asked.

The mythical shipwreck had saved him once, there was no reason why it shouldn't do so again. Averil fought to nod and answer her question for good, but his neck wouldn't move. It was like he wanted to tell her the truth so badly that lies would not suffice, but his fear of losing her was paralyzing.

Why was it so hard to lie to her? It wasn't as if he'd never done it before, lying or telling half-truths was almost the entire basis for Averil's relationship with his father. He just kept imagining the look on her face if, in the end, she discovered that he had been lying to her all along. She wouldn't want him then. There was such a slim possibility that she would want him when she found out that he was supposed to have _fins_, he couldn't endanger the small chance he had by being a liar as well as a merman.

That sad look in her eyes hurt enough to see. He didn't think he could stand to see her angry. His hand curled itself into a fist as he fought with his frustration.

Her soft hand covered his fist, almost willing him to let it go.

"It's okay," Erryn said softly. "You don't have to tell me."

When he met her gaze, Averil was surprised to find that she was smiling.

"I was just making sure it wasn't something about me," she admitted, her cheeks flushed pink. "I'd hate to think I'd done or said something to keep you from talking to me."

The awkward snorting noise that came from a mute boy trying to laugh was truly a unique sound. Still, from the wild grin on his face and the inability of his torso to stop shaking, the princess was able to infer his feelings on the matter.

"It's not that funny!" she complained, though half-laughing herself. When Averil raised a brow at her, she turned the bright crimson shade of a tomato.

Still snickering a bit, Averil reached for her hand, claiming it back. He didn't know a hand gesture that meant 'thank you', but he hoped that she would understand.

She turned on him a grin as wicked as Averil's own.

"It's not polite to laugh at a lady, you know," she told him airily. "Especially not a princess. Anyway, it's nearly time for dinner."

She got to her feet, moving carefully so as not to step on her skirt. Averil, too, sighed and stood up. He took one last look at the endless ocean, wondering briefly what his father and brothers were doing. As no one knew where Averil had gone, he supposed they were worried about him. Though, if Alec had told them what happened at the grotto, they might consider him gone for good.

"Aren't you coming?" Erryn asked from the doorway.

Averil shook off the unpleasant thoughts, and turned his attention back to the beautiful girl who stood waiting for him. Three days didn't seem so impossible now.

* * *

**I hope you all liked this chapter!  
One last thing, just in case anyone wondered- the song Erryn plays about the sailor and his love is called "House Carpenter". It's an old folk song that's been done by many artists over time, but the version I used to inspire the moment was the version by Nickel Creek. Look it up on YouTube, it's a beautiful song.  
Thanks for reading! As always, read and review please!**


	6. A Footnote About Merprinces

**Author's Note: Hello all! Yes, you may have noticed, this isn't an ordinary chapter. I SWEAR TO YOU I'm working on the real stuff, but I've run into a lot more problems with the later chapters than I thought I would. Man, keeping characters consistent and unique at the same time is exhausting! It is coming along, I'm making progress, it's just taking longer than I thought. **

**I wanted to take a moment to give you all a little bit of background on myself, so you can really understand why my chapter postings are a bit haphazard.**

**Outside of my space as a writer of glorious fanfiction, I happen to be a college student in my final semester before graduation. This is the worst time for most college students, because it involves being very, very busy. For me, it's almost twice as bad, because I'm in a creative major (mass media- filmmaking, scriptwriting, A/V production). All day every day my muse is run ragged, and as more active "go out and get footage then write then edit then etc." projects hit my desk, the harder it becomes to write. I don't get to sit in the library and write term papers, I have to write full scripts and then actually produce them. It's like running a circus and being graded on it.**

**Plus, at the end of the day, I'm still writing two large-caliber fanfics (this one and my obscure anime fic, Top Star Revolution), plus I keep getting hit with spontaneous muse for oneshots. So I have to balance real life with internet life and then split internet life between the many fics. It's sort of exhausting.**

**I am BY NO MEANS giving up on this story. I love it, and I've poured too much hard work into it to let it die now. I just may have to take a while for the next few chapters to get posted.**

**I just wanted everyone to know that I love you for reading my story, and I hope you'll click the follow button, so you'll know when I post things. I apologize profusely, as I know waiting for a story is a pain in the butt and we all hate it. I'm sorry. I really am. But when it comes to fanfiction vs. college, the priority is pretty clear.**

**I love every single one of you. Please keep reading. I hope I'm not too much of a disappointment as an author. I try as hard as I can to feed everyone's hunger.**

**Which brings me to my next point...**

**I promised everyone some content, so here's a tidbit of information just to keep everyone hanging on: A profile about Averil's brothers! I hope you find it as interesting to read as I found it to write. Read, enjoy, and keep holding on! More chapters are coming! I swear!**

**Also, one last thing- each merprince has a "visual reference" listed. THIS IS A PHYSICAL REFERENCE ONLY. They are all based on the physical appearance of existing Disney characters, but their personalities are entirely original and designed by me. They are not supposed to match. The visual reference is only there for your benefit as a reader. Thank you.**

* * *

**Fathoms Below**

_A Genderbent Fanfiction_

_By Auryn Rei Evroren_

**A Footnote About Merprinces**

* * *

_**Prince Arren**__ (Crown Prince, First Brother)  
__Age:_ 26  
_Visual reference:_ Phoebus (Disney's "Hunchback of Notre Dame")

Crown Prince Arren is the eldest of the merprinces. He has a goldenrod tail, and blonde hair that he wears short, trimmed just above his ears. He also sports a well-groomed beard. His human torso is well-built, but not overly muscled. His strength radiates from his status. As Arren is the next in line for the throne of Atlantica, he has always been very close to his father, King Triton. He is also one of the four brothers who remembers the late Queen Athena, their mother, clearly.

Arren has always been strained under the pressures of being Crown Prince. He has always been very focused on perfection and order, and rarely takes time out to just have fun.

In personality, Arren is very much like his father. He is competitive, overprotective, and does not tend to explain himself. He has been known to make rash decisions, particularly regarding his younger brothers. However, his attachment to his family is clear. Overbearing he may be, but if one of his brothers were in real trouble, Arren would be there to help in any way he could.

Fun Fact: Arren's one vice is his music- he is a very accomplished musician. He plays both the flute and the lyre with ease.

When needed, Arren wields a golden broadsword as his weapon of choice.

* * *

_**Prince Allan**__ (Second Brother)  
__Age:_ 24  
_Visual reference:_ Adam/Beast, human form (Disney's "Beauty and the Beast")

Prince Allan is the second of the merprinces, and is known for being the calm that tempers the rest of his family. It comes of playing second fiddle to Arren his entire life, as well as from his closeness to the Queen. Allan was always very attached to his mother, and Athena loved having her baby with her always. While Arren trailed after the King as a child, Allan was always at Athena's side. Allan was the hardest hit of the young merprinces when the Queen was tragically killed in an accident. That was the worst display of temper Allan has ever shown, in 24 years.

With a deep blue tail and long, wavy, auburn hair, Allan is an almost exact physical replica of King Triton in his younger days. He sports a muscled torso and imposing stature, but he's really more of a gentle person than his physical build would lead one to believe.

Allan has a kind heart and a firm hand. He takes care of his little brothers in the absence of his father, listening to their worries and solving their problems. He is the best listener in the family. Even Triton and Arren will come to Allan when faced with a difficult decision, seeking his wisdom.

Allan's biggest weakness is his attachment to his family. He would dive headlong into the pits of hell itself if he thought it would spare his father or brothers pain, regardless of any consequences to himself.

Fun Fact: Allan is a closet romantic. He would never say anything about it to his family, but his biggest desire in life is to find his perfect other half and begin a family, as his parents did. After having a front-row seat to one of the most beautiful marriages in the sea, he wants such happiness for himself.

In combat (which he enters very rarely), Allan wields a shining silver rapier (slim dueling sword).

* * *

_**Prince Antony**__ (Third Brother)  
__Age:_ 21  
_Visual reference:_ Hercules (Disney's 'Hercules')

The third eldest merprince, Prince Antony, is the bear of the family. Twin to the fourth prince, Amery, Antony is nearly always viewed as one half of a coin. Fortunately, this thought doesn't often bother him.

Like both of his older brothers, Antony has a robust and strongly-built torso. He boasts great strength as his defining factor, and isn't really known to think overmuch about anything. He much prefers to lend his aid to someone else's cause. His wavy hair and tail are both a bright shade of orange.

The best word to describe Antony is 'good-natured'. He has a cheerful disposition, and is friendly to everyone he meets. He's a bit clueless sometimes, but his good heart wins him points everywhere he goes. Usually.

Sometimes, Antony's temper gets the best of him. He's built like a bear, and when someone threatens him or his family, he acts like one. He has no tolerance for people who act badly to one another, like bullies. (The family joke is that one day Antony will meet his soul mate by saving her from a bully, just like in a romantic fairytale. He certainly is the slaying-krakens type.)

When Antony loses his temper, he counts on his twin, Amery, to get his attention and calm him down. Also, when he doesn't understand something, Amery is the first person he goes to for help. While they are fraternal twins (thus look nothing alike), and have little personality similarities, Antony and Amery make the perfect team, each one picking up where the other leaves off.

Fun Fact: Antony has a passionate love of gardens and sea plants. He has a bit of a green thumb, and has his own garden on palace grounds that he tends to himself.

When it comes to physical violence, Antony prefers to use his own strength over any weapon, and swims to battle with only his fists.

* * *

_**Prince Amery**__ (Fourth Brother)  
__Age:_ 21  
_Visual reference:_ Phillip (Disney's "Sleeping Beauty")

Younger twin to Prince Antony, Prince Amery is the bookish, cynical brother. His tail is a dark russet red, and his sandy hair would be just as wavy as his twin's if he ever grew it out long enough. However, he keeps it trimmed very short, to keep it out of his eyes. Amery is also the first of the younger brothers, who are all of much smaller stature than their elder counterparts. Amery himself is quite slender, which makes him comically small in comparison to his bearlike twin.

Amery can almost always be found with a book in his hand, or holding some type of intellectual conversation with someone. His thirst for knowledge rivals Averil's, though he is more easily satisfied with simple facts, where Averil desires experience.

At a young age, Amery was labeled among his peers as 'the nerd', who was more interested in his books than in interaction with others. Quickly, his brother Antony taught those who said it a lesson. In return, Amery has always stuck up for his twin when it comes to the question of intelligence. Many people like to say that Prince Antony is a mindless jock with no brains to speak of, but no one is foolish enough to say so in Prince Amery's presence.

Alone, Amery is not terribly talkative, and doesn't enjoy social interaction. He relies on his twin to rescue him in most social situations. When forced to speak, he can be counted on for a sarcastic remark or cynical quip about his surroundings. He's not bitter- he just doesn't understand extroverts. Nine times out of ten, Amery can be found in a corner by himself. He's happy that way. Still, with Antony around to pick up the social slack, he gets by.

Antony and Amery aren't your average twins, but they get along okay. Like yin and yang, they complete one another.

Fun Fact: In his spare time, Amery loves not only to read, but also to write. He is incredibly observant of the world around him, and documents everything he observes on paper. He is currently working on a novel, which he refuses to let anyone read (not even Antony) until it is complete.

Amery despises combat of all varieties, but at his brothers' insistence, he did learn to at least defend himself. He wields a simple spear, the easiest of effective weaponry for someone of his temperament.

* * *

_**Prince Ansel**__ (Fifth Brother)  
__Age:_ 19  
_Visual reference:_ Aladdin (Disney's "Aladdin")

Prince Ansel is, first and foremost, the family trickster. He loves a good joke. He is known for his combination of good looks and bad behavior, making him quite the ladies' man. Many a hapless mermaid has fallen for his chocolate eyes and tanned skin, and his shaggy black hair looks like it has never seen a bad hair day. Ansel's pale yellow tail is unexpectedly bright, but he pulls it off well. Like Amery, Alec, and Averil, Ansel is a thin young man without great muscle tone to speak of. He makes up for it in speed- the only faster swimmer in the family is Averil.

As a child, Ansel was left to himself fairly often. Arren was always trailing after the King, Allan after the Queen, and the twins were either more interested in each other or simply not interested in people at all. After the Queen's death, Ansel was saddened, but he, Alec, and Averil were too young to really understand what happened. This has, over time, led to a breakdown of communication and understanding between father and sons, beginning with Ansel. After being left to his own devices for good after his mother's death, Ansel grew up without a clear understanding of the fact that rules were meant to be followed. He began playing tricks and breaking rules early.

If asked, Ansel will say that he doesn't need his father's attention. He doesn't mention ever feeling left out by his family, especially since he has a good working relationship with his younger brothers, Alec and Averil. The elders and Ansel mutually ignore one another, which has so far been a quiet solution.

Fun Fact: Ansel may be popular with the mermaids, but he never, ever makes a promise he doesn't intend to keep. He doesn't lead any girl on, and he always makes his intentions clear (long-term or otherwise). He's a real gentleman when he wants to be, and works to maintain a good reputation. If you catch him in the right mood, he could be the perfect Prince Charming.

If asked to fight for any reason, Ansel is armed with a long glaive- a pole arm similar to a halberd, with a sharp blade about 18 inches long affixed to the end.

* * *

_**Prince Alec**__ (Sixth Brother)  
__Age:_ 17 and a half  
_Visual reference:_ Jim Hawkins (Disney's "Treasure Planet")

Second youngest merprince, Prince Alec, is also widely known for his complete and total disregard for rules. However, unlike Ansel, who seeks only to have a good time, Alec causes bigger issues most of the time. He is loud and has a serious attitude problem- half the time he gets dragged up before King Triton purely because he mouthed off to the wrong person too many times. Alec really tends to butt heads with Arren, because he believes that his brother should mind his own business and stay out of his way. More than once, King Triton has threatened to send his second-youngest son to the palace guard, to teach him some discipline. Their shouting matches are legendary. Somehow, Alec has managed to toe the line, but the threat is always ready and waiting.

Alec is shorter than most of his brothers, and a slight bit stockier than Ansel and Averil. His brown hair he wears long at the top, and shaved to his scalp underneath, save for a small lock of hair that he braids into a rattail. It's the look of a juvenile delinquent, as Arren tells him constantly, which only makes Alec even more proud of it. His tail is olive green.

Alec is closest with the brothers on either side of him, Ansel and Averil. The three of them are the rebels, the one who don't care what their father thinks. Alec is easily the most outgoing of the three, often dragging the other two into his troubles. He is Ansel's wingman, and Averil's confidante. The bonds between he and Averil rival those of even the twins. Alec would do anything for Averil.

Fun Fact: Alec's overly rambunctious personality may also stem from his belief that there really isn't anything special about himself. He doesn't have any particular talent that he knows of, not like Arren's music or Antony's gardening. Getting in trouble isn't a talent. Alec tends to cover his self-esteem problems by shouting over them and hoping no one notices.

When in combat, Alec wields a pair of twin daggers, one in each hand.

* * *

_**Prince Averil**__ (Seventh Brother)  
__Age:_ 16  
_Visual reference:_ Ariel (genderbent, Disney's "The Little Mermaid")

Averil you know, if you've read the story at all, so I won't go into a lot of detail here, but I will mention a couple of interesting facts.

While Alec is clearly Averil's closest brother, he also holds a soft spot in his heart for Allan. Allan is the closest thing any of the youngest three have to a real mother, as they don't have terribly clear memories of Queen Athena. Ever since her death, it has been Allan who hears their problems and calms their fears. When he was still very young, Averil had a stint of time where he was plagued by nightmares. Without question, Allan would always allow his little brother to come curl up in his bed when he was scared.

Like Allan and Amery, Averil would normally sit out of a fight if given the chance. However, when asked to arm up and join his brothers, the youngest merprince goes to battle with only a silver shield (which he uses for both offense and defense).

* * *

**This has been A Footnote About Merprinces. I hope you've enjoyed this seemingly useless foray into the oddities of Auryn's mind. We will return to our regularly scheduled fanfiction shortly.**


	7. Chapter 6: Stories

**Author's Note: HALLELUJAH THIS CHAPTER IS FINALLY UP! Oh my God, you guys don't even know the torture it's been trying to get it written while feelings so horrible about not having it done yet. It's a vicious cycle, I swear. But here it is!  
So this chapter is a little bit shorter than the rest- that just has to do with future chapter breaks, it's nothing personal. I really hope you like the chapter. It's a far cry from the original movie, but I like how it turned out in the end.  
Enjoy!**

* * *

**Fathoms Below**

_A Genderbent Fanfiction_

_By Auryn Rei Evroren_

Chapter Six: Stories

After less than five minutes, Averil had already come to the conclusion that dinner with the princess was infinitely preferable to dinner with his family. The presence of the scrupulous Grimsby was less than ideal, but one out of two wasn't bad. Erryn was very talkative. By the way Grimsby was only half-listening, Averil figured that this was normal for her.

"And Grim, did you know Averil's got _six brothers_?" Erryn said enthusiastically while they waited for the housekeeper to serve the food. "Honestly, I don't know what I'd do if I had that many siblings. Plus he's the youngest, too, which is just amazing."

"Very interesting, my dear," Grimsby responded politely. "And how did you manage to come across such information?"

Erryn looked at the old servant like he was an idiot child.

"He told me, of course," she said simply. "Didn't you, Averil?"

The former merman nodded, unable to keep the smile from his face. He didn't find the little aspects of his life all that interesting, but she took every fact she knew about him and marveled over it as if it were the most exciting thing she'd ever heard. Simple things, like the number of siblings he had, were like treasure to her.

Grimsby raised a brow at Averil, but did not challenge the princess' word. Clearly he was wondering how it was that the mute boy had managed such a detailed conversation. Erryn was so busy explaining her new discoveries that she didn't seem to notice.

"It's fascinating, Grimsby," she said primly. "You should talk with Averil sometime. He's really very conversational."

That was too much.

"Really, my lady," Grimsby said, struggling not to roll his eyes. His tone of voice was as patronizing as Averil had ever heard it.

"There is no need to make up wild stories about our guest," he reprimanded her.

The look on Erryn's face was absolutely crushed. Sitting next to her, Averil could see that her hands were curled into small fists around the napkin in her lap. Her eyes darted back and forth from Grimsby to Averil, no doubt checking to see if Averil had been offended. He hadn't, but it was kind of her to worry about it.

"I'm not making it up, Grim," she said firmly. "Look."

She turned to Averil. He had to set down his glass of water quickly, not expecting to be put on the spot. He was so used to being ignored at mealtimes that this was a bit of a surprise. He felt his face grow warm with embarrassment, but he would no more refuse Erryn her fun than throw her in the ocean.

Erryn smiled at him kindly.

"What do you like to do for fun, Averil?" she asked, the excitement in her voice barely hidden. Her eyes glowed like stars. Her napkin had become hopelessly wrinkled as she absentmindedly turned it over from hand to hand.

Averil thought for a minute, then held up his hands flat against each other. Then he opened and closed them the way he would a book.

"You read," she guessed. It was an easy one, but he hadn't been able to think of anything else.

Triumphantly, the princess returned her gaze to her stuffy serving man.

"See?" she said. "I told you. He doesn't talk, that doesn't mean he's stupid."

Affronted, Grimsby sniffed.

"Far be it from me to suggest such a thing, my lady," he said formally. The look on his face said that he disliked being put in his place by a teenaged girl, but he said no more aloud. He was very good at his job, it seemed.

Their dinner was served on covered platters, made of the same shiny material as Erryn's flute. The fact that he didn't know what it was scratched at Averil like an itch, but he couldn't ask.

"Carlotta, my dear," Grimsby asked, addressing the plump and friendly housekeeper, "What's for dinner?"

"You're going to love it," she replied, setting the older gentleman's plate before him. "Chef made his specialty- stuffed crab!"

_Stuffed crab._

Averil's face went dead white, and he froze in place. Being distracted with the princess all afternoon, he had never found a moment to continue looking for Sebastien. On the off chance he ever actually spoke to his father again, he did _not_ want to have to explain why he left with Triton's right-hand crab and came back without him.

When Grimsby removed the domed cover from his plate to reveal a sickeningly familiar shell, Averil thought he might fall out of his chair. Fortunately, two beady little eyes suddenly opened. As Sebastien's panic reached its paramount, Averil's frantically beating heart slowed.

They were incredibly lucky that Grimsby and Carlotta were so talkative. They were chatting with the princess about something or other. This was Sebastien's chance.

Averil lifted up the dome from his plate, hurriedly waving Sebastien over. The crab gulped and scuttled across the table as if- or rather, because –his life depended on it.

"Averil?"

The young man slammed the dome over his friend's head, hoping the princess hadn't seen him. She was staring curiously, but said nothing about it. Inside the covered plate, Sebastien breathed a sigh of relief.

Erryn blinked, and returned to her original query.

"I was asking if you wanted to tour the kingdom with me tomorrow," she repeated. "It's been forever since I've gotten to go out, and I think you would really love it."

Averil nodded cheerfully. A whole day, just him and the princess? He couldn't believe his luck. No Grimsby to sniff at him, no Sebastien to scold him- just Erryn, who appeared to like everything about him. She hung on his every mime, as his family had never done even when he could speak. He didn't even have to tell her why, but she knew exactly what he needed.

Only after he had happily accepted did Averil realize that this was an entire day in which he might find the right moment to kiss her.

The rest of the meal went by extremely pleasantly (after Carlotta replaced Grimsby's mysteriously empty plate). Averil was barely listening to the conversation, lost in his daydreams of what the next day might be like.

Sebastien, it seemed, did not share Averil's pleasant thoughts. The moment they arrived back at Averil's room, the crab had plenty to say.

He paced back and forth across the dresser, his many legs making an irritating clicking sound. Averil now knew what it was like to sit next to himself at dinner when he got bored and started tapping the table.

"This has got to be without a doubt," Sebastien complained, "The most humiliating day of my life!"

Averil sighed irritably, glaring at the crab who was ruining his good mood.

"I hope you appreciate what I go through for you, young man!" Sebastien scolded. His rant went on and on, some nonsense about being trapped with a killer chef who was trying to cook him. It was enough to drive Averil mad.

Eventually, he gave up and left. Without a voice, he had no way to get Sebastien to be quiet, so he decided to return to the balcony where he had spent the afternoon with Erryn. It was much more peaceful there. Plus, he couldn't help but grin at the squeaky sound of Sebastien's protests as he pulled the door closed behind him.

* * *

As he drifted out into the cool night air, Averil realized that he wasn't the only one with the idea to enjoy the balcony. He had to duck aside swiftly to avoid being noticed by the princess and Grimsby, who were apparently conferring about something.

"I'm simply concerned, my lady," the elderly man was saying stiffly. "We don't know very much about him."

"You haven't even tried to get to know him, Grim."

The princess' reply was harsh. Averil winced at her tone, secretly very glad that he was not on the receiving end of her displeasure. He pressed his back to the wall, intent to continue listening.

"He hasn't done anything to you, or to me," Erryn pointed out. "He's just a poor boy who got washed up in a shipwreck. He looks like he doesn't have a friend in the world, is it really so wrong for me to get to know him?"

Grimsby sighed impatiently.

"My lady," he began, the exasperation in his voice very clear, "I am not saying that we should not be gracious and kind to the boy. I simply urge caution."

Erryn snorted in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, Grimsby," she said, her words suddenly muffled, as though she were struggling not to scoff at him. "If you only knew how silly that was."

"I'm not sure I follow, my lady."

"Wasn't it you," Erryn said primly, "-who was so insistent that I should behave more like a princess and meet potential suitors? But now that there's actually a boy here, you don't want him near me at all."

Predictably, she was met with Grimsby's signature sniff. Obviously he didn't consider a mute shipwreck victim a suitable partner for the princess. From where Averil stood, the entire situation was fairly amusing. If he succeeded in his challenge and won the princess after all, he imagined the look on Grimsby's face would be priceless.

"Be reasonable, my lady," Grimsby insisted. "You must consider a _proper_ suitor. I have indulged your fantasies quite enough, but it is time you take your royal responsibilities more seriously."

A sinking feeling grew in Averil's stomach. He knew that tone of voice, that conversation was old hat. It hurt enough being the youngest of seven princes, he could only imagine what such condescension meant to someone in Erryn's position. Didn't that old coot have a clue what he was saying?

"Fantasies," Erryn repeated, her voice deadened, impassive. She sounded almost deflated, as if the conversation had turned impossibly against her and she knew it. There was no winning now.

Grimsby knew it too.

"Mysterious vanishing rescuers, my lady?" he said, tone thick with implication. "Interesting your new friend may be, but a character from a fairy story he most certainly is not."

Averil had to stifle a gasp. It was one thing to know that she had a vague memory of being rescued from the sea, but another completely to hear that she had mentioned it to anyone. The way Grimsby sounded, there was no way this was the first time it had come up since the day of the shipwreck. Erryn's moment of silence only confirmed his suspicion.

"I never said," Erryn replied slowly, her voice wavering, "-anything about that. I know it couldn't be him."

Grimsby sniffed yet again. Averil was quickly growing to dislike the old man.

"Really, my dear, you have never been an accomplished liar," Grimsby said patronizingly. Suddenly his tone was softer, much less demanding. He had made his point, he knew it, and now he had a princess to take care of.

"Grim, you don't really think I'm shirking my responsibilities, do you?" came Erryn's soft voice. "I can't _help_ thinking about it, it's just impossible to forget. I _know_ that boy was real, and it's just so..."

She trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

"My lady, if I may say," Grimsby began carefully, "Far better than any dream man is one of flesh and blood."

Erryn's response was instantaneous.

"Then what's so wrong with Averil?" she blurted out. Again, Averil had to cover his mouth to keep his audible reaction from being heard.

"I never said a word against him, my lady," Grimsby replied. "If you recall, I merely advised caution."

At that, the princess was silent. Averil, too, was very confused- first the old butler had sounded like he didn't like Averil at all, and now he was defending him? It was madness, trying to keep up with him. What was he going on about, anyway?

Averil risked a peek around the doorframe, and saw that Grimsby now had one hand placed on the princess' shoulder.

"My dear, you are young, and your head and heart are filled with fantasies," the elderly gentleman said kindly. "I simply wish for you to see when you hold too tightly. I would hate for that poor young lad to win your favor for the wrong reasons. Far better that you should see him clearly, for who he is."

Both Averil and Erryn were shocked. The ex-merman had to retreat back to the shadow behind the doorframe, willing his heart rate to slow down before he imploded.

When he looked back, the princess had her arms wrapped around Grimsby's neck. The older man seemed slightly uncomfortable, but he did smile.

"You're always watching out for me, aren't you, Grim?" Erryn said softly.

"Of course, my lady," Grimsby answered.

Erryn released her servant, an uncertain smile on her face as well.

"I can't say I quite agree with you," she told him, "But thank you for thinking of me."

Sensing that the conversation was coming to a close, Averil realized he needed to go before he was discovered eavesdropping. He stole away down the hallway, his mind spinning in all different directions. His room was quiet when he arrived, not that Sebastien's endless chatter could have distracted him from his reverie anyway.

* * *

That night, Averil's dreams were plagued with scenarios from his underwater childhood. Some were from times when he was very young, watching Antony try to distract Amery from his reading, or listening to Arren add unnecessary commentary to Allan's bedtime stories. Other scenes were from more recent times. Snickering with Ansel and Alec about the subtle innuendos in their father's kingdom-wide announcements. Carving Arren's flute.

The most memorable of these dream scenes was one that Averil had long since consciously forgotten. It was a conversation he'd had with Allan, shortly after the first time Averil had asked why he couldn't go to the surface. He was only seven. His father had lost his temper, and simply shouted at Averil to stop asking ridiculous questions.

When sixteen-year-old Allan had found his littlest brother in tears later that day, he had tried to explain it.

_Allan sat in the window seat of their room, beckoning his little brother closer._

"_Averil," he said, pulling the smaller merman into his lap, "Did what Dad said hurt your feelings?"_

_Averil sniffled and nodded, burying his face in his brother's chest. _

"_He's so mean," the seven-year-old had whined softly. "He never lets me do anything."_

_Allan had done his best to calm him down, stroking his hair the way he remembered Athena having done for him. _

"_Do you remember that time Ansel wanted to play in a steam vent?" Allan asked._

_Averil nodded again._

"_He burned his tail," the younger boy recounted, somewhat confused. _

"_And what did Dad say?" Allan continued._

"_Ansel should've listened," Averil replied plaintively. "Dad told him no, but he didn't listen, and he got burned."_

"_That's right," said Allan, nodding. "So sometimes Dad has to say no, because he knows what's good for you and what isn't. That's just how dads are. They have to say some mean things now and then, because they want you to be safe."_

_Averil pouted, his bottom lip stuck out. _

"_But does he have to shout so much?" the little boy complained._

_That day, it was a credit to the second merprince that he had managed to conceal his laughter. _

Averil didn't remember any dreams after that.

* * *

Averil wasn't the only one with interrupted sleep that night. In fact, his father and brothers weren't getting any sleep at all.

Triton and his sons were gathered in the throne room, keeping a vigil for the lost one of their number. Triton sat on his throne, slumped over in worry, his hair and beard haggard for lack of care. The boys, who had taken up resting spots around the room, had been going out in shifts, to check the likely places where Averil might have been- all except Alec.

"I told you, he's not going to be anywhere you'd normally find him," Alec drawled lazily. He reclined on the floor, tossing a glowstone from hand to hand. His eyes were bloodshot and sunken from worry, but his gaze held no hope at all.

"Not like you've made any effort to even look," Arren responded icily from his place next to the throne. He fidgeted, and his gaze was locked on the large entryway, keeping watch for Antony and Allan to return from their shift.

"You heard what happened," Ansel reasoned. He sat with his back to one of the support columns, his eyes struggling to stay open. "If it was you, would you want any of us finding you?"

Arren didn't have an answer for that.

He was saved the trouble of responding by the arrival of King Triton's herald, who returned with news from the sea guard. The little seahorse was panting for breath, having been swimming hard to reach the King.

Triton raised his head, eyes wide.

"Any sign of them?" he asked desperately.

The herald shook his head.

"No, you're Majesty," he replied, his tone sad. "We've searched everywhere. We've found no trace of your son, or Sebastien."

The Sea King sank back into his chair, hopelessly resuming his slumped position.

"Keep searching," he instructed. He opened his mouth to continue, but couldn't get the words out. Arren rose from his spot and addressed the herald in his father's place.

"Leave no shell unturned," Arren said firmly. "No coral unexplored. Let no one in this kingdom sleep until he's safe at home." He drifted closer to the throne, reaching out to place a comforting hand on his father's arm.

"Yes, Your Highness," the herald answered, and made his escape, leaving the family to their internal affairs.

They sat in silence. Alec had told his brothers about Averil's grotto and its impending destruction, (though he and Triton had come to silent agreement that they would leave out any mention of humans). Many of the boys wanted to blame Triton's actions for Averil's disappearance, but no one was foolish enough to come out and say so. It was clear to everyone that the King blamed himself, and that it was tearing him apart from the inside. Without Arren and Allan to support him, he would have lost it completely by now.

Amery paced aimlessly in the doorway, tailfin swishing madly. He had a book in hand, but he flipped the pages nervously between his fingers without actually reading them. His endless back-and-forth motion was about to drive Alec crazy, but before he could say anything, Amery tensed up. His brothers all looked to him, questioning.

"They're back," he said tonelessly, indicating outside the door, where Antony and Allan approached.

The question didn't need to be asked as the two remaining brothers joined them.

"No luck," Allan reported softly. "We looked everywhere we could think of, but he's just vanished."

"I don't want to say it," Antony added slowly, "But...he may have just left. For good, you know."

"But why, then," Amery countered, "-would Sebastien be missing as well? His only job was to keep Averil out of trouble. If it was just that he was going to run away, Sebastien would have come and told Father."

"The only explanation that makes any sense," Allan mused, "-is that something went wrong."

A collective shudder went around the room. No one wanted to imagine what might have gone wrong.


	8. Chapter 7: Sabotage

**Author's Note: Hello dear readers! I have another chapter for you. Now, BE FOREWARNED: This chapter may feel a bit iffy in relation to the original movie. There's a very simple explanation for this: I don't like half-baked romance. If I'm going to write a love story, I'm going to give it at least some semblance of depth. So yes, there's a bit more dialogue and such here, it's there to make the story plausible. Erryn, unlike Eric, is more than just a pretty face. I wanted her to have a lovely personality too :D  
We'll get to the super fun stuff next chapter, hopefully it will be quicker update times now that I'm past all the ooey-gooey lovey-dovey crap that I hate writing. In the meantime, enjoy chapter seven!**

* * *

**Fathoms Below**

_A Genderbent Fanfiction_

_By Auryn Rei Evroren_

Chapter Seven: Sabotage

Dawn in Erryn's kingdom was surprisingly busy. The sky was just gaining a pinkish hue as Averil rose to the sound of Carlotta's sharp knock at the door. The kindly woman pressed a new change of clothes into Averil's hands, pinched his cheek, and told his that the carriage would be waiting as soon as he arrived downstairs. The young man nodded his thanks, and closed the door to get ready.

As he changed clothes (a much easier task now that he had done it once or twice), Averil got to listen to Sebastien's lecturing.

"Now you gotta look your best today," the frumpy old crab was saying. "If you want that girl to kiss you. Stand up straight, and make sure you don't let your eyes pop out of your head."

Averil rolled his eyes. He was confident about today. He knew for a fact that the princess liked him, what was there to worry about?

"Remember, you only got two days left," Sebastien reminded him.

Averil turned and flapped a dismissive hand at the crab. He didn't want to think about deadlines, they weren't really his style. Unfortunately, Sebastien knew that.

"Don't you shake your hand at me young man," the crab added sternly. "No distractions this time. You think you can just float around with your head in the clouds, well, no sir! You keep your wits about you if you want to win that girl."

The former merman's eyebrows contracted in irritation. He would never admit it, but Sebastien did have a point. Averil had spent his life doing things the way he wanted to, without much regard for the script everyone wanted him to follow.

Averil crossed his arms over his chest. This time, there was no room for error. Ursula's script was life or death. He had chosen to play her game, and now he had to be serious enough to win.

Shrugging off the uncomfortable thoughts, Averil tugged on his shoes. He slipped Sebastien into his pocket, in case of emergency, and took off for the front doors.

When he arrived, the princess and her servants were already waiting. Max was romping around, panting as usual. He looked as excited about today as Averil felt.

"Good morning, Averil!" Erryn said cheerily. She was dressed in her usual sensible blue skirt and boots, but something was different. Today, her long black hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, tied off with a red ribbon. A few tendrils had escaped the ribbon to blow freely around her face, but the overall effect was lovely.

"Here," she said, moving to press a warm roll into Averil's hand. "You look like you need something to eat."

Smiling, Averil nodded his thanks and took a bite of the roll. It was still warm from the oven, a bit crispy on the outside, but soft and sweet in the center. The taste was so heavenly, Averil thought he might conspire to remain a human just for the food. Erryn returned to discussing the details of the day with Grimsby.

"I was thinking we'd avoid the beach today," she was saying, "Try to stay inland. We should be back in time for dinner. If anything happens, we'll send word."

"Very good, my lady," Grimsby replied. "The carriage is waiting outside."

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to take one of the footmen with you, miss?" Carlotta asked.

"Oh, no," Erryn answered gaily. "I'll have Averil with me after all. We should be fine."

Max barked, but Erryn quickly laid her hand on his head.

"Not today, buddy," she said, scratching behind his ears. "We'll play later."

The large dog barked again, more softly, and then laid down on the floor at Grimsby's feet.

The princess turned to her companion, an excited smile on her face.

"Are you ready?" she asked Averil. He nodded enthusiastically. Without waiting for her guidance, he reached out and took her hand, dragging her toward the door. He wanted to get out there and see what all this fuss was about human life. It had to be interesting, the way she talked about it.

Erryn just giggled, and let him drag her along.

"See you later, Grim!" she called behind her as the pair of them disappeared out the door.

"Oh, just look at them," Carlotta said, like a mother hen clucking after her chicks. "Aren't they adorable. He's just like Max was when she first brought him home."

Grimsby raised a brow, but was momentarily prevented from speaking as the dog in question suddenly collided with the back of his knees. The old butler cast a withering look at the rambunctious dog.

"What an interesting notion, my dear," he said drily, as the sound of the carriage wheels faded off into the distance.

* * *

The town in which Erryn's castle was located was perched precariously on a mountainous little island that sloped sharply into the sea. Averil suspected it had once been a volcanic island, formed under the sea until it grew so large that it broke the surface. Today, however, it was covered with green and stone.

The carriage itself was a mystery. It worked just as his father's shell coach did under the water, but this one required round mechanisms to keep it off the ground. It was pulled by creatures Erryn had called 'horses'- that made some sense, but Averil thought that his seahorse friends might be offended at their being named after such unintelligent creatures. Or perhaps these 'horses' were named after seahorses?

"Averil?"

As usual, it was the princess' voice that pulled Averil away from his thoughts and back to reality. She had a broad smile on her face as she held onto the reins.

"You must be a daydreamer," she said with her usual giggle. "I always have to call you twice."

Blushing, Averil's eyes fell to his feet. He hadn't meant to be a bother, there were just so many things to _think_ about...

"Oh, don't get all worried about it," Erryn said. "I don't mind at all. It's just funny."

In response, her redheaded companion reached over and playfully flicked at her ponytail, which sent both of them dissolving into laughter (though silent on Averil's part). Before they knew it, the town rose up before them.

Even so early in the morning, it was bustling with activity. Shopkeepers were opening up for the day, shops of all sorts. There were men pulling carts, children running in every direction. Averil saw so many things, he didn't know what to look at first. Now he understood Sebastien's warning about not letting his eyes pop out of his head.

He leaned forward, the better to catch a glimpse of everything. There, a baker was setting out a tray of rolls just like the one Erryn had given him just minutes before. Up the way, a woman who sold clothes was setting up a rack of dresses.

On their left was a large stone-walled canal, which presumably led in from the sea. While Averil was busy taking in the sights, his sidekick Sebastien was scanning the waters. Just as he expected, a blue-and-yellow fish came splashing out of the water alongside the carriage.

"Did he kiss her yet?" Flounder asked earnestly.

"Not yet," Sebastien hissed.

Disappointed, Flounder fell back, his fins crossed in dismay.

Erryn brought the carriage to a halt in what looked like the center of town. There were shops and stalls all around them, circling a large fountain. Averil leaped out of the carriage, excited to get started. After a sharp pinch from Sebastien, he remembered his manners, and offered his hand to the princess to help her out of the carriage as well.

Once her feet were on the ground, Averil was surprised to find out that the princess was just as excited as he. Instantly she grabbed his hand, dragging him this way and that. She found a puppet show that made her laugh, complimented a baker's wife and earned a free tart, and convinced a chicken farmer to let her feed the chickens. Averil found himself entirely at her mercy. Still, he couldn't help but smile as Erryn poured chicken feed into his hand, instructing him in how to give it to the chickens without being pecked to death. Her face was nearly glowing with happiness.

"It's been a long time since I've gotten to come to town," Erryn said brightly. She was almost as distracted as Averil was, the pair of them trying to take in all of the sights at once. The people of the town came in all shapes and sizes, and they had a myriad of tasks to be done. Erryn wanted to do all of them. After only half an hour, Averil was dizzy.

The princess fetched them a pair of sticky buns from the baker's stall, and the dynamic duo sat down on the fountain's edge to rest for a moment.

"Are you having fun?" Erryn asked, her mouth half-full with sticky bun. Averil nodded brightly, taking a bite of his own and savoring the sweet taste. He was beginning to think that this princess had a weakness for sweets.

Oh, how he wished he could ask her all of the questions he wanted to ask. But most of them, he figured, were stupid questions that any normal human would know. He couldn't very well ask her what things were, or how they worked, without blowing his cover. Still, the more he watched, the more he learned.

There was a young woman with a book sitting on the other side of the fountain from them, completely immersed in the story to the point where she didn't seem to realize that there was a fluffy creature nibbling at the pages' corner. Across the way, at a table in front of a food stall, were a pair of men in military garb with drinks in their hands, laughing loudly. Off to their right, a group of young girls in matching clothes were spending the morning braiding one another's hair. Averil watched them all, intrigued and amused by it all.

Somewhere off to their left, Averil suddenly heard music. Erryn immediately perked up.

"They're dancing today!" she said excitedly.

Averil felt a chill across his neck. He had only the vaguest of idea of what dancing even was. She was so excited, and if he didn't look excited too...

Stuffing the rest of her sticky bun in her mouth, Erryn started pointing over to where the music was coming from. It appeared to be a musicians' stall, where they sold musical instruments and played songs for people.

There was a short man with a large stringed instrument that looked somewhat like a lyre, but bigger. It had a large strap across his shoulders, holding it in place. Next to him was a taller man, wearing a floppy hat, with a miniature version of that stringed instrument in his hands. It was almost comically small in the hands of such a large man, but his fingers moved so fast against the strings you could hardly see them. The third musician was a lovely young woman with honey-colored hair, who had yet another stringed instrument in hand. It was small, but instead of plucking at the strings, she braced the instrument against her neck and held a long stick in her other hand, dragging it across the strings to produce the sound.

"On festival days, the musicians bring out their instruments and play, and the whole town gets to dance," Erryn explained. "And sometimes they do it just for fun, even when it's not a festival day. Like today."

Averil watched, as the townspeople began to turn their attention to the musicians. With smiles on their faces, they began gesturing to one another, drawing ever closer to the music stall. The young lady with the book from the other side of the fountain set her volume aside, drifting closer. The little girls with their hair all braided up took each other's hands and began skipping about to the beat of the music.

One of the military men offered his hand to the girl who had been reading. She nodded and took it. He put his other hand to her waist, while her free hand went to his shoulder. Without even needing to talk, they stepped together, beginning to spin and glide in a more graceful version of what the little braiders were attempting.

_Dancing_, Aveirl thought with awe. There really wasn't such a thing under the sea, as merpeople had no feet with which to step. They used the term rather loosely, it applied to almost any kind of movement that involved rhythm. Still, what these humans could do was vastly superior.

More pairs of people came together and began dancing, all the same way, like it was something everyone knew how to do. Averil began to tense up, knowing that any minute, he was going to be expected to join them. How was he going to explain himself?

Erryn rested a hand on his arm.

"Don't look so scared," she said, her eyes alight with mirth. "It's just dancing. It's not even hard. Come on, I'll show you."

Averil jerked his arm away from her, frantically shaking his head 'no'.

"You're not afraid of a silly little thing like dancing, are you?" she responded, putting her hands on her hips. "You lived through a _shipwreck_, but you won't dance."

That laughter in her eyes had become a wicked glint. It was an expression Averil knew well- just not from her. She was taunting him, calling him a coward to see if it would convince him to do what she wanted. She probably assumed that living with six brothers had given Averil enough of a competitive edge to keep him from backing down from a challenge.

She was right.

Admitting defeat, Averil held out his hand. With a triumphant grin, Erryn took it, and dragged him closer, so they could hear the music more clearly.

"It's simple, really," she explained, placing their hands the same way Averil had seen the other couples do. "Normally it would be your job to lead, but since you're just learning, I can do it."

She tugged him even closer to her, pressing themselves together. Averil's face blushed red, but Erryn seemed not to care.

"Just stay this close to me, okay?" she said. "Stay close, and follow what I do."

Slowly, she took a step to the left. Averil stepped with her, his eyes focused very carefully on his own feet. Again, she stepped, he followed.

"Now try stepping back," Erryn suggested. When Averil complied, she stepped forward and twisted her toe, letting go of him on one side to twirl around in a circle, as the other girls did.

"See?" she said, laughing at the dumbfounded look on his face. "I told you it was easy!"

For the next several minutes, Erryn coached, and Averil followed. Eventually he got the hang of moving in time with the music, and he found that he could easily keep his movement simple without holding Erryn back at all. She spun and twirled like the others, laughing gaily at every turn.

Slowly, a smile crept onto Averil's face. He wasn't watching his feet anymore, but was entirely focused on Erryn. She was lovely, her cheeks rosy, her ebony hair flying in the wind. It was obvious to see that his role in all of this was to make her look beautiful (though in his opinion she didn't really need any help at all).

Suddenly and without warning, Erryn's skirt became caught under her boot, and she lost her balance. She pitched forward, and Averil had to move quickly to catch her before she hit the ground. Still, she was light on her feet, and was able to somewhat regain her balance with only a little help.

The princess met Averil's eyes with a smile. He smiled back at her, then decided to try something interesting. He placed his hands at her waist, and lifted her high in the air, spinning her around over his head. She laughed cheerfully as her skirt swirled around her, bracing her hands on his shoulders.

When he set her down, she immediately wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug.

"You know you're the best, right, Averil?" she said, her happiness hardly contained in her voice.

He was glad she couldn't see his face while hugging him so tightly, because it was flushed red.

* * *

All day, Averil's crustaceous sidekick held his tongue. They were two days into this suicide mission, and so far, he had managed to keep his composure and say nothing (at least, that's what he thought). But after dinner that night, Sebastien had something to say.

"Alright, now, no more of this foolishness," he declared, pacing back and forth across Averil's dresser, his many legs clicking and clacking madly. "You want that girl to kiss you, you gotta do it right."

Averil raised a brow, unsure what the little crab meant.

"Here's what you do," Sebastien said. "She likes you, so you just got to get her to let you kiss her. For that, you need _mood_."

Again, the look in Averil's eyes was somewhat blank. He wasn't exactly an expert in women, so creating 'mood' wasn't something he knew how to do. That was more Ansel's forte than his. Averil raised his hands questioningly.

"I have a plan," Sebastien supplied, much to his relief. "But you gotta do what I say. Now you listen very carefully."

* * *

After dinner that evening, Averil initiated Sebastien's plan. Carefully (and with many misinterpreted hand signals), he invited the princess to join him for the evening. So far, they had remained on and around land, as most humans did. However, Sebastien reasoned, the water was their strong suit. If Averil wanted the home field advantage, he had to get Erryn to the water.

So he invited her for a boat ride. Nothing fancy, just one of the little rowboats that the castle staff used to traverse the town through the canals. Still, the princess was happy as a clam as the pair of them clambered into the boat at the castle dock. There was a small salt lake on the inland side of the castle, fed by the sea, where they could explore freely.

Erryn chattered contentedly, as Averil leaned out of the boat to push them away from the dock. When he turned around, however, he found that Erryn had commandeered both of the little boat's oars, and was setting up to row.

Mimicking Erryn herself, Averil raised an eyebrow at her, and placed his hands haughtily on his hips.

"What?" Erryn replied, a sly grin on her face. "I can row just fine."

Averil rolled his eyes and reached for the right oar. He tried to tug it out of her hand, but she refused to let go. Time to change tactics.

He tugged on the right oar with all of his strength, forcing the princess to abandon the other oar and use both hands. As soon as she let go, Averil sneakily let go of the right oar, and dove for the abandoned left one. He snatched it up before Erryn could switch hands again, and looked at her triumphantly. Now they each held an oar, and had no intention of surrendering.

"Well what now?" Erryn asked. "Looks like an impasse to me."

Averil shook his head, and motioned for her to slide over. She complied, and he took a seat next to her on the bench. Now she could row on the right, and he on the left, with no trouble at all.

The first few strokes were a little awkward, but they quickly got the hang of rowing together. Sebastien poked his head out of Averil's pocket to survey their surroundings. Within moments, he had their destination sighted. He surreptitiously tugged on Averil's sleeve, pointing to a small willow grove across the lake. The ex-merman nodded, and began to carefully steer in that direction. It was perfect for their purposes.

Dusk was beginning to fall all around the castle. The lake glowed with the blue tint of impending moonlight as the boat glided ever closer to the stand of hanging willow branches.

"Averil?"

He turned to look at her, the question written on his face. Instead of his usual strong, confident princess, he found her frowning in concern. It was such a drastic change from her ordinary cheerful self that Averil was instantly worried. Had he done something wrong?

Erryn was hesitant to ask her question. She didn't meet his eyes, but instead focused her gaze on the oar in her hands. She bit her lip, and took a deep breath before asking.

"Are you," she began tentatively, "Are you going to- you know, go back...home?"

Surprised by her off-the-wall query, Averil momentarily stopped rowing.

"I'm sorry," Erryn said quickly. "I didn't mean to- I just, I was just thinking about how- well, how boring it would be. If you left."

Her voice grew terribly soft. Her oar lay forgotten in her lap, and she seemed afraid to even look at him. The boat drifted into the shady grove of willow. The gentle sound of the wind blowing through the reeds filled the air, with the soft buzz of the crickets. From above came quiet birdcalls, calling their mates back to the nest.

Averil reached over to put a hand on her shoulder, but found that he lacked the courage. His arm fell limply back to his side, as the princess went on.

"I guess I was just never meant to be left alone behind stone walls," Erryn murmured. "Everyone always ends up leaving, and I- I hate it."

She sounded truly miserable.

The oar began to slip out of Erryn's lap. Averil rescued it before it could fall into the lake, carefully laying both oars down on the bottom of the boat. Taking a deep breath, he gathered up what courage he had, and took her hands in his.

"I'm sorry," she said again. Her voice was shaking. "I suppose it's not fair of me to ask you to stay. You've got a family at home, and all."

Unable to let her continue down that path of negative thoughts, Averil placed his fingers under her chin, tilting her face up to meet his. Slowly, deliberately, he shook his head 'no'.

Soft splashes could be heard around the little glade, as some of the local sea life protruded their heads to see what was happening. Among them was Flounder, whose scales practically shivered with excitement.

Erryn's sky-blue eyes were so close to tears. It was all Averil could do not to just wrap his arms around her. He so desperately wanted to make her feel better- after all, if she would just kiss him, she wouldn't have anything to worry about. But he couldn't tell her that.

"You must think I'm so silly," Erryn confessed, half-laughing. "And to think, we only just met yesterday. It's ridiculous, really."

She spoke quickly, talking herself out of her discomfort. As though saying it aloud would somehow make her believe it inside, or at least convince Averil that she believed it. He knew better. Again, Averil shook his head. He kept his eyes locked on hers, unwilling to look away. If he broke the spell now, it would all be lost.

Erryn's voice faded until it was barely audible.

"If I did ask you to stay," she whispered breathlessly, "...would you?"

Slowly, Averil nodded.

He felt her fingers tighten against his palms as she squeezed his hands.

Though they sat side by side, as friends, the ex-merman and the princess now faced each other. She was trusting him with her secrets, her feelings. She spoke only truth, and prayed fervently that he would not become yet another disappointment. He held nothing back from her, despite having no words to speak. He let her understand him, in a way no one ever had before. He tried new things with her. She was the one who saw magic in the world where others didn't. She saw _him._

His heart pounding in his chest, Averil leaned ever closer. There was one simple way to answer her questions and put her mind at ease, and they were so very close.

Letting one hand go, Averil reached forward to brush a stray lock of black hair away from her face. He gently cupped her cheek, willing her to understand what he wanted without overstepping his bounds.

She understood. She leaned forward, intent upon letting him give her his true response.

Suddenly, the boat shook and pitched. Within a splitsecond, before either boy or girl could realize what was happening, they found themselves soaking wet, and gasping for air. Their little rowboat had spontaneously capsized. Fortunately, the water was quite shallow in this part of the lake, so near the trees, which provided them the ability to stand up rather than swim.

Coughing, Erryn swiped her hair out of her face.

"Averil?" she called. "Are you alright?"

Averil clambered to his feet, shaking out his red hair. He nodded in answer to her question, but he wore a decidedly sulky expression. Quickly he checked his pocket for Sebastien, and found that the little crab was still present, though just as wet and grumpy as everyone else.

"That was strange," Erryn commented, as she tried in vain to wring out her skirt. "We must have hit a log the wrong way or something, I don't know. We should get back and dry off before we catch cold."

Averil shrugged, then nodded. He carefully slogged through the mud to retrieve the capsized boat. The pair managed to return their vessel to its rightful orientation and make their way back to the castle, but any hope of a life-transforming kiss was entirely lost.

* * *

That night, Averil's thoughts burned with curiosity and suspicion. No boat capsized that quickly, with no warning, and no sign of impact. Certainly none of his friends would have caused it, which left only two options: a complete freak of nature, or intentional sabotage.

Only one person would sabotage such a situation.

Two days down, and only one to go. As he pulled the covers tightly around himself, Averil swore that the next day, he was _not_ going to let anything stop him. It was crunch time, now or never, the final countdown- and no one, sea witch or otherwise, would get in his way.


End file.
